202: The Highlights of 2025

Sam.

Welcome back to another episode of the Backlog Breakdown, a video game podcast where we seek to encourage and equip the church to engage the medium of video games wisely and well. I'm one of your hosts, Nate, and with me today is my co host, my friend, my brother in Christ, Joshua. How you doing, Josh?

Hey, man. I am doing well, solo parenting over here, and it's been relatively good. You might want to ask my kids about that, but I think it's been. Well, it's been good so far.

One day in, would you say it's been.

Has.

It's been.

I would even play the sound, you know, hey, hey. Yeah. And that. And that is how it's been. It's a new year. You know, we've. We've had a good time hitting the ground, running kind of with some goals, you know, thinking about routines and things like that. It was fun. I'm generally kind of a personal secretive because I'm a perfectionist in a lot of ways. I don't like sharing a bunch of things while it's still kind of cooking. But it was nice to actually sit down with my wife and talk about goals for the next year. So she's got some of her own and obviously we've got some together. And so that was a lot of fun because I think about these things a lot. If you've been listening to the podcast, you've heard me talk about it every year, but it was fun to sit down with my wife, too, and think through. Oh, yeah. Okay. You want to make sure those things are done. And here's some pointers that I've found as well and things like that. So we're doing pretty good. But, yeah, like I mentioned, solo parenting. My wife's out of town for the next few days, so. Yeah.

Yeah, it's kind of interesting that you bring up, like, resolutions or just thinking about, like, you didn't say resolutions, but, like, that idea. And it's like, I do need to sit down. Like, I've kind of. I've got. I want to think about and write out some resolutions, you know, just. Just for this year. And. And some of it is like, very much like, like, old hat, where it's like, dude, 2026 needs to be the year where I, like, figure it out. Like, I kind of, like, get back in, like, physically, where, like, I probably need to get some of my diet under control. But I also just. I want to be a little more active. I also. And we'll talk about some of this a little bit.

More.

But like, I am kind of like, this is a year where we're. I am being like, pretty intentional about like. And I'll talk about. It's like I'm really trying to minimize my. My personal spending this year. And I say that right after, you know, I dumped 20 bucks on a Perry Cox Funko Pop. Like an idiot or a genius, I look at it as an investment in my future because someday I'm gonna like, want to build out a super slick recording space. I'm gonna want, like, cool stuff to, like, put behind me.

Yeah.

And I think a Perry Cox Funko pop is kind of fun.

Yeah. It's a good investment. There you go.

Yeah, it's an investment in my future. But. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That.

You're still there. You're good.

Yeah, I pulled out the. Oh.

Headphones. That makes sense. Yeah.

My in ears. But yeah. And so it was like. It was kind of like doing like this weird. Like. But yeah, no things. We are kind of. We're technically in post peak. I gotta be honest, dude. Like, it's like kind of normal. Ish. But like, delivering mail in the winter is just like, It's.

Oh, yeah.

Objectively the suckiest part of the job.

Have you gotten a lot of snow lately?

We got. We got like. We had a couple days where like we got like six inches. But then like. Okay, so tomorrow, like, it started to warm up today and like tomorrow and the next couple days, we're supposed to be like in the like high 40s, possibly low 50s.

Yep.

And so it's like, we're just. It's gonna be like all sloppy and gross and.

Gotcha. Yeah. But.

But yeah, I mean, things are. All things considered, like, you know, it's. It's not too shabby. Like, like I said, we're just kind of. We're like. Megan and Byron went back to work and. And daycare, but Megan about. She went back to work. He went back to daycare this week.

Oh. Oh, yeah.

So yeah, it's first day back into that. So.

Oh, man.

Everybody's a little tired, a little worn out. And of course, like, I'm just over here, like, feel my pain. I've been tired and worn out the entire month.

Past couple months now.

So no sympathy from me. But yeah, no, all things considered, like, we're doing all right. We're doing pretty good. Asher is still like the bane of my existence, but he. He does start obedience training this week.

Okay.

And I'm really hopeful that, like, we get some tools to help us like, figure out how to help him because, like. Yeah, yeah, it's just, like, it's. It's getting tough. Like, he is such a sweet dog, and he really is pretty good. It's just. He is, like, relentless. Like, relentless. Like, tonight I had him in the house for a little bit, and I was just, like, trying to, like, sit there and, like, do a little bit of writing and reading.

Okay.

And just the entire time, like, he's got, like. He's got, like, all these, like, toys all over the. The floor, and it's like. And it's. I'm willing to pet him, but it's like, that's not enough. It's like, he's got to be like. Like, grabbing my hands with his mouth, and I'm like, dude, I just need you to, like, not do that thing, man. Like, I love you. Like, can you just sit here with me while I pet you? And, like, we hang, we chill, and I prep. And he's like, no, man, not gonna allow it. Like, good luck with that, pal. So. But, yeah, all things considered, yeah, we're doing pretty good. But.

Cool.

Yeah. So you're. You. Your children are still upright and alive.

Yes.

I'm sure your wife will be grateful for that when she returns. I'm sure that you're appreciative of that. You know, that you have not, you know, destroyed your children. It's like a. That's a good thing. It's a good thing.

Yeah.

But, yeah, I don't. I guess, though. And it has been sort of an undisclosed amount of time since we last spoke, but I would like to know what you've been into lately.

Ah, so. So you're saying that during the interim, we probably have some experiences to share.

We played and watched it, let it through.

Now we're sharing XP with you.

Critical hits.

Good stuff to declare. It's XP share. That's right. Exp Share.

So what's funny is, like, we've got, like, this pop punk, like, sort of like, ballad thing that's been. It's AI Slop, right? I was listening to no Effects, and this is not go into my XP Share thing, but it's going to get mentioned here. But I was listening to some no Effects today, which is not, like, super encouraging. Like, I would not recommend no Effects to anybody. Like, sure, sure, like, but I'm. I'm kind of like, that's of my era and one of the songs I was listening to, and I can't remember which one it was, but it's like, when did Punk rock become so soft. And I was just like, no, not soft, so safe. And I was like, oh, like. And here, here, it's like we're generating like pop punk ballads.

Yeah.

Seeing AI. Yeah, I thought that was funny.

Nice.

There was just some irony in that moment where I was like, oh, yeah, I am the problem.

You know, that's. That's just how it goes. That that's a fun experience. Let me tell you about some of the experiences that I've had or at least some of the media that I've been enjoying lately. And actually, in lieu of last time, not sharing any. Any books, I just have books that I'm coming to you with today, the first of which was a birthday present that I got last month, and that is this book, Bold as a Lion. The Christian, excuse me, Christian Courage in an Age of Cowards by Matthew Everhart, who is from your neck of the woods, actually pastor of a PCA church up there. And he just. He just came out with the book and I was interested in it and my parents got it for me. So I've been reading that and enjoying it quite a bit. And he starts off by talking about a kind of a taxonomy of fears. So what are the things that we typically fear? Well, he makes a case for the reason that it's called Bold as a Lion is because Proverbs talks about how the righteous are as bold as a lion, but the wicked are in fear when no one pursues them. Something along those lines. I could open the book and read that verbatim, but I didn't do that just now. But anyways, that's kind of the idea behind the book, is that when you recognize who you are, are and whose you are, you ought to display courage throughout your life, knowing the truth and living in that truth. And that cowardice is sinful, like true cowardice, not necessarily fear. So he talks about fear, different kinds of fears that we might have, whether they are rational or irrational and whether they are natural or supernatural. And cowardice basically being when you know what is true and you don't act upon that truth, or fears that cause you to cower in the face of when you ought to be bold. So bold in your proclamation of the gospel, bold in the way that you live your life and you're not that. So anyways, good book so far. I don't think I'm quite halfway through, maybe about a third of the way through so far, but I've been enjoying that quite a bit. I don't want to run through my entire list here. So let me go through two more that I have is I listened through. Because Crossway had a sale. I listened through two. I think they were just sermons because they were very short, but they were from Francis Schaeffer. It's the Lord's Work in the Lord's Way. And no Little People was the other one. And they were just very encouraging messages. The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way talks about how we are called, not just called by and through God's grace, but that therefore we ought to live in his grace and show that to others as well. We ought to live by the power of his spirit. And that's the only way that we can live as Christians. It's not in our own power, but it's. It's through His. And I feel like I'm doing a huge disservice by simply saying that, because that sounds a bit more cliched than the way that he kind of talks about it throughout. Again, it's pretty short, you know, maybe an hour, if even that. So really enjoyed those by Francis Schaefer. And then the last thing that I'll mention is a book. We have a whole episode about it. And I meant to actually identify the number of the episode, but I forgot. Anyways, it's one of my favorite books. I go back to it pretty often, but I listened through essentialism by Greg McKeown once again. So for fuller thoughts on that, you can check out one of our previous episodes that we've done on it. But it's good, and it helps me to think about what are the most important things and how can I cut away the things that just take up my time that do not help those most important things in my life. So case in point, when I'm here with my kids, I want to make sure that I prioritize time in the Word with my kids over everything else. Even over. Because we homeschool, even over getting their schoolwork done. Like, I want to make sure that we spend some time in the Word together and family worship because. And I want to make that clear to them that that is the most important thing. Even though it's very important to get schoolwork done. It's more important that you love the Lord. That's what we want, you know, to pass on to them. So, anyways, essentialism by Greg McEwen. It's great. It's not necessarily a Christian book. I believe he is a Christian. It's. It's more. It's more actually productivity, but. But just that IDEA it's episode 125.

Just.

Thank you. Episode 125, almost 100 episodes ago. 125 is. Is where we talk about essentialism. So go check that out. So that's. Those are the experiences that I have to share. Those book experiences. Reading and. Or listening to things. What do you have for us, Nate?

Nothing is nearly as substantial. Okay, I gotta pull my notes here. So you talked about Impact Rising and how because of your cheapskate, you can't watch it anymore, and that sucks for you.

I did before the episode started. Yes.

But anyways. Well, I called you out. I aired out all your dirty laundry for you. You're welcome. So there's another Netflix anime that I. I picked up and started watching based on Parker's recommendation. It's called the Fragrant Flower. Blooms with Dignity and it's Slice of Lifey.

Okay.

But it's really sweet, really wholesome. The dub voice acting with a couple characters, frankly, leaves a little bit to be desired in my opinion. But like, honestly, it was just like a really kind of wholesome and fun watch. It's a. It's a meet cute kind of thing. It's, you know, like most slice of life tends to be some sort of like romance love story kind of thing. So there's. There's definitely like, sort of like a romance drive. But. But yeah, it's. It's really cute. It's really sweet. It's really wholesome. I think one of the things just sort of briefly touching on it is like, I think it actually does a really great job depicting like, friendship.

Okay.

And so, yeah, I really like that. I think it's a good time. I kind of mentioned this last episode, but I've. I've gotten a little deeper into it. Warlock, Holmes, the series. I am still going through those books. I love them. I think they're really kind of funny.

Nice.

I. I love a good, Like, I. I love a good bit of subversion when. When something is kind of like played with when. When sort of source materials played with. Well, I really do like that. I would say there's some stuff in there that I'm not sure is like, appropriate for all ages.

Okay.

So, you know, kind of like buyer beware kind of stuff there. I. It's definitely like some people it's just not going to vibe with, but it's. It's kind of. It's. It's like if. Sherlock Holmes met like the Cthulhu mythos, but with like 110% more fun and hijinks. It's. It's really kind of weird. It's Cthulhu. Funk Cthulhu. Not like. I mean, well, for now there are pretty dire stakes, you know.

Okay.

Anyways. But I'm really enjoying it. It's. It's pretty clever. It's. It's. It's a lot of fun. But again, it's. It's not one of those things like it doesn't get like a full send recommendation from me.

Okay.

It's much more of like, hey, kind of be careful there. I think it's. I think it is really funny. I think it is really clever. I happen to be a big like. And I enjoy the. The Sherlock Holmes books as a general rule. And I think like, anyways, it. It. It's kind of tickling something in me that like I'm enjoying it. But it's. It's not a full. Like, it's definitely not. There's.

There.

Some people would probably not enjoy this nearly as much as me. It's not that there's anything like ex. Explicitly crude or crass, but it's just like, it's not. It's not exact. It's not really kid friendly. So, you know, kind of keep that in mind.

Gotcha.

It's. I have two more things I'm gonna sort. I know I only have one on here. There is, but this is like only half of a reco. So there's a band called Her Last Sight. And I don't know, they're. It's her. Like. I don't know, they're hardcore or something. I don't know. I don't know what I would call that genre. But they have a song, okay. The song is called the Fall. Now this is an explicit song, so there's probably some swears in it. But at the 2 minutes and 10 second mark, like, they do this thing where basically they bust out a bouzouki, which is like the Greek. One of the Greek, like stringed instruments.

Okay.

And they do like hardcore with bouzouki. And it is. I am obsessed with that hook. Like, I hear like, I hear that riff and I just, like, I'm just like, oh, like it is so stinking good. And they do. They also do this whole OPA thing, you know, like the Greek.

Okay.

And so it's like, it's like I said, at the 2 minute and 10 second mark, right around that ballpark, they do this thing that I think is absolutely the. It's just like I'm obsessed with that. Like I've listened to. I've listened to the song several times and every time that that part hits, I'm just like, yes. So, you know, if you want to, you can listen to that and it's kind of fun, or you can just listen to the Hades soundtrack. So those are like. Yeah, those are like half sort of things. The last thing. And again, this isn't like a full recommend. I haven't watched it yet, but it has come across my radar recently and I'm kind of interested in it. Again, I mentioned no Effects at the top of the show. Like, I. I came up out of, like, the. The early mid late 90s, like pop punk and punk rock scene, and no Effects was a pretty formative band for me. Like, there's a couple albums from them that just rank very high now. These are not albums I can, in good conscious, like, recommend anybody to watch.

Right, sure.

Or listen to. Because it's punk. It's. It's really anti establishmentarian. It's. Well, it's pretty crude and a lot of. But anyways, like I said, it's just like. It's the music that I grew up on, and so it means things to me. Like. But there's a documentary from a few years ago, almost 10 years ago at this point in time, that just came out called A Fat Wreck. It didn't just come out. It came out in 2016. I just found out about it. How about that? It's called A Fat Rack and it's about sort of like the early history of Fat Records. Because Mike. So Fat Mike is. Is he the bassist? I can't remember. He's. He's one of the members of.

He's a vocalist. That's all I know.

Yeah, he. He does vocals, but I can't remember if he's like bassist and vocals or guitars and vocals. But anyways, he has a record label called Fat Records.

Right.

But it's FAT and then W, R, E, C, K and then chords. Right.

Corn.

So Fat Records.

Yeah.

So the movie is a documentary about the FAT Record, Fat Records record label. And so, like, I've been kind of, like, keen to check that out. And so, yeah, I'm going to. Like, that's kind of like, that's on my radar. And I was just like, it's. It's kind of like I'm having like, a bit of a. Like I said, you know, just kind of like nostalgia for 30 years ago.

Yeah.

Kind of thing. Like, I'm like, man, like, you know, some of this stuff has popped up and there's Just kind of been like man, I. So yeah, again I don't know if I'd recommend that but if you were sort of. If you kind of came out of that scene like I did, you know, it might tickle some nostalgia bones for you. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nice.

So yeah, that's the stuff that like the non video game related stuff that I've kind of been into and excited about. Like the, the like I. It is a full send. Pretty much a full send recommend for the. The fragrant flower blooms with dignity. I. There is this one scene. Okay. And because it's a slice of life scene but like there's one scene where a bunch of dudes get absolutely bodied and the way that they handle it is perfect. But it also made me like just like it would have completely broken character with the show but I would have like if they would have included 30 minutes of these dudes getting or not 30 minutes but 30 seconds of these dudes getting pummeled, I would have found that so incredibly satisfying. But it's a slice of life so they're not going to do that because it's like you know, they, they tastefully like cut away and then they come back after all this stuff has got you been done.

But like.

But yeah, I really, I really it was, it was kind of surprising. Like Parker kind of recommended to me and I am a mark for slice of Life. Like I like that stuff like you know, so. But, but yeah, it's a. It was really charming, really sweet, really wholesome and yeah made me feel a little warm inside. Warm and fuzzy like you know, the, the.

The.

The void, you know, felt there was a little bit of a heat and light. Yeah. And. But yeah, but we are video game podcasts and I think we should probably talk about what we've been playing and I'll just sort of kick it off because I have absolutely nothing to talk about. Oh really? I played in the last. Since we last recorded I played. I've played some Destiny 2.

Okay.

And I like I fired up my switch too for a few minutes and, and a little bit of Link's awakening and that's. That's it. I also have not finished like setting up my locked unloaded list and so I would just like I'm. I've got a big fat zero. I've got a goose egg.

Okay.

As far as my beat down score goes. And yeah I'm doing. Is basically playing Destiny and some links awakening so.

Gotcha.

I'm beating anything. Haven't done my last list.

It's early. You haven't beaten anything, but you also haven't purchased anything. Right.

Well, and that's like, okay, and, and so I'll talk a little bit more about this. But like, and I hinted at it at the beginning of the episode. I. My goal this year, like, my, like, you know, I sort of like, I have like big goals and then like, you have like. But my, my overarching goal for this year is to spend. To buy no video games. Like, and just dang. Completely prioritize my backlog and dude, like, because the reality is like, okay, and we'll talk a little bit about it and I don't want to get too far off being path. But like, like this year there's some really cool stuff coming out. And if I do have a birthday coming up in April and so I might ask for a game for my birthday, I might ask for a game for like Christmas.

Sure.

But I think like one looking at the year to come, there's some stuff that I'd love to play right off the crack. But like, the reality is like, you know, and I'm just kind of like doing this thing where we're kind of like financially we're recalibrating so that we can sort of get a little more aggressive. Aggressive with some debt and there's some stuff around the house that needs done. So it's like, you know, I'm just prior. Like, it's like I want to leverage my finances a little more. Unfortunately, I got to be a little bit more of a grown up Josh.

Sure. Yeah.

It's not fun, you know, but like.

Retirement and all that. Super fun.

Well, yeah, yeah. I mean, but anyways, so, yeah, so my big goal this year is I like. And so hopefully, even though we talk about like the things that we picked up or whatever now that will exclude podcast stuff. So like, you know, patrons, this is, this can serve as a bit of a reminder. Patrons, you guys actually need to start voting like you've made your nominations. Unless we've got any like last minute nominations sliding in, you should know how many votes you have as a patron. Like, you guys should know all that. Like, you know what you give with consistency. If you have questions on how many votes you have, reach out to me and Josh, we'll clarify for you. You know, because there's. There's one exception. I'm thinking of one that like, there's, there's one where I'm like, it might get a little muddy, but we'll talk about that.

Cool.

And it's not. It's not you, Porcho. So you don't worry about that. Yeah, but. Yeah, so patrons, you know, sort of. You've got your nominations out there. You guys should start voting. So the only money. And it'll be podcast money, but the only money that will get spent will be to acquire if. If we need to. To acquire podcast games.

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. And I assume when it. Get the. The one you were talking about, that it gets a little muddy. Is the game about digging a hole. Probably gets really muddy in that. But that being said, that'll be a lot of fun.

Although that is getting a bunch of traction. There are like. In the Discord, man. Like, they're like. It's like, Mark brought that up.

Yeah.

And then it's like, I've seen like five or six people play it and I'm going like, yep. What is going on here?

Yeah. I think it has to do with starting the year off right and playing through games that are short. Because, speaking of which, that's what I've been doing at least so far for this year. Have no purchases, thankfully. There was actually a game I was tempted to purchase. Persona 5 Tactica was on sale for 10 bucks, but I did not. Pick it up. Swoop it up. What is the word?

Pick it up?

Yeah, something like that is what I'm thinking. I don't know.

You didn't acquire it?

Lost. Exactly. I didn't get it in time. And so it was sold out. So. Okay, that's fine. I don't need it anyway. So no purchases. So no positive points there. But I did finish up the Final Fantasy 2 pixel remaster. I finished that game and I wrote a little bit about, you know, just a couple sentences in the Discord is that I talked about it last episode that I think the. The orchestrated soundtrack is fantastic. Like the music on this Pickles Pixel. Pickle remaster is so good.

The pickle remaster. You could kind of say it's a big dill.

It is a big deal. I like that. I like that. Good job.

I. I'm so proud of you myself. I'm going to go. I'm going to go commit rituals.

I mean, thank you for joining me because that's basically my bread and butter. So I'm.

Bread and butter. Pickles are disgusting and you should be ashamed.

Yeah. You're just all pissing vinegar right now, aren't you? Anyways, so this pixel, I'm.

I'm soaking in a bright, despairing existential dread right now, love. I relish These moments. You're disgusting.

So the Pixel remaster, it has, you know, it has the bestiary and things like that additionally. But it has artwork as well. And I have a lot of Yoshitaka Amano's artwork. The sky collection that has the Final Fantasy game artwork in it, but it's cool to have it on the cartridge as well. That you can look through with orchestrated soundtrack is fantastic. So anyways, the game itself, Final Fantasy 2, I played it a bit when I was younger through emulation, but this is the first time actually, like, purchasing the game and actually finishing it. I didn't get too far into it when I was younger playing the original Famicom version. But this version, it really does feel like it's a more realized version. Of what? Oh, I can't think of the. The designer's name is. But he. He did the Saga series. This is sort of one of the first Saga games. And. And the. The way it's. It's different than the first game in some ways. It's a lot more ambitious. The story is not quite. Not that the first story is boilerplate, because the first, you know, Final Fantasy was kind of a. Was kind of a. A reaction to Dragon Quest in that. That original game and trying to expand upon that. And so it brought in a bunch of crazy stuff. But this one also gets kind of crazy. You see some glimmers of Final Fantasy 4, the story in that one, you see some glimmers, even a little bit of Final Fantasy 6 and the drama that's there that they tried to do with this game. And the Pixel Remaster version really fleshes some of that stuff out in a way that is one much more playable, but also. Well, yeah, I guess. I guess that's. That's really what it is. Much more understandable for a more modern audience. It does, however, make the game a lot easier. And so it did end up being an easy game. It was somewhat analogous to when I played through Star Ocean Second Story R last year. And you just kind of become a powerhouse because you can take advantage of some of the stuff that happens behind the scenes in the game. That's kind of how I felt playing this game as well, is that if you grind for a little bit, then you can just be the baddest kid at school in the game and just kind of wipe the floor with everything. So at a certain point, I had no difficulty through the rest of the game and was only surprised at the very final areas of how hard some enemies were hitting. But even then it didn't take more than just a couple rounds to beat even the final boss. So it did end up being easy. But I. I'm glad that I played through this game. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to and really like this version of it. So Final Fantasy 2, I finished that one up. I get a negative point for that one. And so then I've just been playing around with some of the games that I got towards the end of last year, particularly the CapCom Fighting Collection 2 and some of the games in there. Also the. The Capcom versus Marvel Collection. I booted up Marvel superheroes and played Spider man for a little while and then get my butt kicked. So that was fun. But also I don't know what I'm doing, so that's fun. In The Fighting Collection 2, I've played a few of the games. Just. Just dabbling a little bit. The Capcom Fighting Evolution, which is not a good game, is what I' hold because it just pulls characters from other games and they play the same way they do in those other games. So there's no cohesion. It's just like, hey, if you like this character from this other game, he plays exactly the same. So play that for just a little bit. Didn't get very far. And then played a little bit of Project justice, which is a 3D fighter. It is the sequel to a game called Rival Schools. So it feels a lot like Yu. Yu Hakusho in that. It's, you know, you're. You're these.

Did you ever play Rival Schools?

No, I didn't.

That was. Yeah, that was. I had a friend who had that and I remember we used to get together and play that. It's a good time. Yeah, it's a good time.

It is. It is a good time. I like it. I've only played it a little bit, but I like it. It's got a story mode which is not super common with fighting games. So yeah, it's a good time. Just. Just kind of dabbled in it a little bit, played a few rounds, beat a few people and, you know, advanced a little bit of the story. But it's so funny, you know, you're this high school going high schooler with your friends, you know, going around to other high schoolers and beating them up and that you all have these special powers and it's just kind of funny. And then finally, actually just today, I played through the first Power Stone game and play as the main character Falcon. Just played through the story mode and it does get Difficult towards the end. You kind of have to know what you're doing. But, man, it's, it's, it's a blast. It is bonkers As a 3D fighter, somewhat. I've heard it's somewhat akin to Super Smash Brothers and I get that in terms of like, it's a party fighter. It's definitely that. But there's something different. It feels very different than Smash Brothers, but I get it because it is simplified and it's more about kind of throwing things and getting items and getting power ups and stuff like that than it is about the core kind of mechanics of the fighting. But it's a great time, so I really enjoyed that. I did technically roll credits on the game. I'm still going to play it with other characters, you know, feel it out a bit more. But since I rolled credits, I did go ahead and give myself that other second negative point for the year. So I'm currently at negative two. And that was the first game off my Locked and loaded list because I knew it was super short. But Power Stone finished that one. Not, you know, rolled credits on it. But like I said, I'll still keep playing it. So that is what I have been into so far in the new year in 2026. Yeah. Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.

Well, if you guys liked that, all of that, all that we just brag and all that we just dumped on your head, have we got other things for you. That is a terrible transition and I should feel really bad about myself, but I'm tired and I don't care. Like, listen, here's the thing, guys. We have a Patreon. And if you like what we're doing here or you want to maybe like partner with us as, as we sort of do this thing, as we sort of try to build out this platform, as we sort of try to provide resources to the church and our brothers and sisters in Christ and even just sort of like, you know, add a much more thoughtful Christian voice to the gaming criticism and sort of engagement, content creation, whatever. We have a Patreon and for as little as a buck a month, you can partner with us or you can look at it as a tip jar and sort of. But, you know, like I said, if you like what we're doing, you've done the rating, the rating and the reviewing. You've done the sharing and the caring. And if you haven't done those things, please do share us with your friends. Like, subscribe, rate, review, do all those things. Yeah, they're supposed to help us and so that would be a cool thing for you to do. But, like, again, all of that being said, if you like what we're doing here and you want to partner with us for as little as a buck a month, you can do that. If you want to give us more, you can do that as well. And that comes with perks. Each and every patron gets early and uncut access to each and every episode. There's a little bit of preamble. There's actually, there's an exclusive podcast for our patrons called the Bro Hang, where it tends to be. It tends to be whatever. Sometimes it's really silly. Sometimes it's really sober. Sometimes it sort of walks in between the two of those things. Sometimes we say things that we probably shouldn't have and have to walk back or, you know, mostly me. Mostly it's. It's mostly me. It's almost entirely me. But. But in addition to all that, and we talked a little bit about the voting. This year is the first year that we've done it this way. But our patrons will. They'll nominate games for us to play, and then whatever, six games out of that voting pool sort of come out with the most votes. Those will. Those will get locked into the schedule, and we will be doing episodes on those, and we'll actually invite our patrons to jump on those episodes if they want with us. Patrons can also recommend topics. So in addition to the six games, patrons can recommend or suggest topics. And if we like those, we will do those. And again, so we'll try to pull those patrons or any interested patrons onto those episodes with us. So they. They have a lot more sort of, you know, access and, you know, influence when it comes to sort of like the content that we do. And so, yeah, yeah, and they get to see our schedule. Like, you know, I'm actually kind of like behind the scenes. I'm just sort of prepping our. Our calendar, our recording schedule, and all of our patrons. Any of our patrons who want access to that will be able to sort of see what we've got on the docket. But, yeah, so, yeah, all that being said, again, just sort of, if you like what we're doing here and you want to look for a way to partner with us, that's a way to do it, and we'd appreciate that. So other things that you might like. Hey, we. We, alongside some of our friends, make up sort of a, you know, a scrappy young podcast network, because those are apparently still a thing. But the. The Playwell Network alongside our friends, Paul Idle, the techno funk boy, Wesley Ray, the Henshin dad himself, and Nicholas Porch, AKA Porcho, the wonder from down Under. They all have podcasts, exploring and wrestling with that while just playing. Well, and, and sort of in a different. In a range of different ways. We love these guys. We love their content, and we think you ought to check it out. So here's a word from one of them.

Hey.

Wow. It's radical that you're listening to this ad. I'm Nick, the high energy host of Nothing New under the Pool. This podcast has been going through the golden years, and it's probably getting closer to rock bottom now. But that's no reason not to listen. You'll learn heaps about me, about playing games. Well, about international guests through insightful interview questions, and you'll learn about games that don't exist. So come join me under the porn. You'll like it.

I'm desperate and hungry.

So listen. And we're back. So tonight we're back. We are back to the future, but also the past. So, like, here's the deal. Yeah, yeah, we're kind of, we're.

We.

We do this every year. We kind of look back over the previous year. We sort of look ahead. And so we're gonna go. And we, we have frame this as. As award ceremonies. I don't know if we're gonna dip into that too, too much. Like, sometimes we just make fun of all the dumb things that we see come out in a year or what us? Why would we do that?

No way.

I don't believe that.

Super serious all the time.

Yes.

Everything.

Not at all. Not at all. But I think this year it's kind of like we were kind of talking about it and I think we just wanted to take a few minutes to maybe go through. Did we want to do our played games and our acquisitions or just go through our played games?

Oh, yeah. Acquisitions aren't a big deal unless there's one in particular you want to highlight. But I'd say it's more about, hey, what did you play last year? Not really. What did you get? Because we'll talk about that in future years.

Yeah, I mean, I, I did. There, there's a. I, I bought a lot of stuff this year that came out this year, and so I'm looking forward to playing some of that.

When you say this year, you mean.

25 last year or last year? Yeah, I bought a lot of stuff last year that actually came out in 2025. And I'm. There's a good bit of it that I'M kind of, like, chomping at the bit to get to, but. Yeah, so, like, I'll just. I'll sort of kick us off here.

Okay.

And what's kind of like. Yeah, but anyways, so I started off the year with. I rolled credits on remnant 2.

Okay.

I also beat two of the three DLCs, sort of right off the crack. The Dark Harvest and the Forgotten Kingdom, you know, and so I. I played through all of that, and I actually ended up doubling back and getting 100 completion on the Forgotten Kingdom as far as trophies. And also I got the plot. I ended up getting the platinum for Remnant two as well.

Wow.

I sort of, like, doubled back, and it was like, one of those things where I sort of picked up and I was playing. And anyways, also played the Talos Principle this year, which just did not really vibe with me. I did not have a good time with that game, so. Played Evil west this year. Really kind of like that. It was very much like a period piece. It was kind of. It was interesting.

Okay.

I like that one. We played Dishonored Collector's Edition. I played Dishonored. Dishonored Collector's Edition. Really had a good time going back to that. The Banner Saga, The Stanley Parable. Expedition 33 this year. That's a bit of a high note for me. I. I played Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remaster, and it ended up, like, quitting, like, abandoning that because, like, I just. It was kind of like a. Like, I was like, I might go. I might try another Call of Duty game, because I've heard the Black Ops games are, like, actually supposed to be fairly good, and I have a few of them, so it's like, I'll probably try one of those. But it's like that, for whatever reason, like, Modern Warfare did nothing for me. Played Mega Man X this year.

After.

Bot Space Marine 2, Ratchet and Clank. The. The reboot one from, like, 2016 or whatever it was.

That's right.

Astral Chain this year. Dredge, Sword of the Sea, the Pathless. I ended up playing, you know, going back to and trying to be. But ultimately abandoning Creature in the well just because, like, I like that game, but it kind of hit a point. There was, like, a difficulty spike that I was, like, just not big fan of. Played and beat Dragon Quest Builders this year. Got the platinum for Destiny 2, which was kind of a bit of a high watermark for me because, like, I've already talked about that. And I played in Beat Vanquish this year, so. Yeah, I mean, that's that's kind of. So, I guess. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22. I played 22 games, essentially.

Nice.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's. That's awesome. I think it's surprising for me as I look back on last year, because I don't feel like I have a lot of time to play video games, but I was able to finish quite a number of them. But it's also because there's. Most of them are shorter experiences, and it's funny to look back on them. So I've got 27 games that I played last year, which again, just surprises me. But I started off the year with Titanfall 2, which was a lot of fun. Ninja Gaiden on the nes wanted to finally actually roll credits on that one. Like you mentioned, Talos Principle, which I did enjoy, which is funny to think about. That was towards the beginning of the year, because that does not feel that long ago to me. One of the longer games I played was Shin Megami tensei, Devil Survivor 2, Record Breaker, and I did enjoy that one quite a bit, mostly in terms of mechanics over the. The story was okay, but it was fun to. To play another one of those games, Willow on nes, which is another one that I played multiple times, but I never actually finished. So that was fun to. To finish up that one. Pokemon Legends, Arceus. I rolled credits on that one. I think I had started that one last year, but I could be wrong on that. But that one's. That one's a fun one. You mentioned Banner Saga, and that one sticks out as I think about the previous year, because that was. That was quite a. It. It just. I was gonna say it's quite a fun experience, but yeah, there's. There's just something special about that game. It all kind of works together.

I don't know if I'd use the word fun, but I do think it's like. It was an incredibly potent experience. Like, it's enjoyable.

Yeah. But, yeah, anyways, right in. Yeah, yeah. The art style again, it just works so well. The voice acting worked with that one too. So Halo 3 and also Halo 4 comes later as well. Finish both those games up with my son, which is fun. Contra 3, the Alien Wars, Dishonored, though I ended up abandoning it. Abandoning it. I didn't play that much of it, but that one's on the list because we talked about that one. Metal gear solid 2, Sons of Liberty, Kirby's Dream Course, which, my goodness, without Save States that game would be a nightmare. Mario Kart World, because that came out this year. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 future redeemed the DLC that kind of connects a lot of those Xenoblade Chronicles games. Long Gone Days, Real Mist Star Ocean Second Story R Slay the Spire Battletoads, which is the newer one. I played that one on Game Pass and played that one with my kids, which, for better or worse, you know, there was some crude humor in there that they found absolutely hilarious. But anyways, for better or worse, Dredge, that was.

You know why they found it absolutely hilarious? Because it was absolutely hilarious. If you can't laugh, listen, I'm just gonna say.

Oh, I laughed.

Yeah, no, I'm. No, I'm not saying you, but I'm just saying people who can't laugh at scatological humor. You're no fun. You're no fun. Stop being. Stop being boring and basic and no fun. Like poop and farts are funny. It's okay. There's hilarious.

I don't recommend the show, but in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, there's a scene where Frank. I can't think of his actor. The actor's name. Why can't I think of the actor's name?

Danny DeVito.

Danny DeVito. Yeah. He said, I did the poop. Poop is funny. And it's. And it stuck in my head for the rest of my life. So wrong. Anyways, Dredge was another game that I played and we talked about. We have an episode on that one, Bioshock Infinite, and there may be an episode on that one coming out. We'll see. And then towards the end of the year, Ninja Gaiden 2, also NES version. Street Fighter Alpha, the original Street Fighter, which is a. A traditionally bad game in Japanese. It's known by Kasoge, which I. Anyways, maybe I shouldn't have said that into a microphone. Street Fighter Alpha. Excuse me? Street Fighter Alpha 2. I already said Street Fighter Alpha. So Alpha 2. I mentioned Halo 4. And then finally Pokemon Heart Gold was the last one that I finished last year. So I was actually able to knock quite a few games off of my backlog. Not that all of those games were on my backlog. Some of them we played just for the podcast itself. But it's a good amount of games, and I did try and sprinkle in some older titles in there that I had played multiple times and that I never actually finished. So that's always something that I try to do and something that. Trying to do with my Locked and Loaded list for this next year as well. So if it were to. You know, I don't. I don't know if we. We want to kind of bring this up, but if I were to just kind of nail down like my favorite experience from the past year out of those games, it. The one that rises to the top above all the others is Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Future Redeemed. It does not make sense unless. Right, exactly. Unless you. Especially after last episode talking about our personal top 10 games. But it is very. It is a very niche game because it requires not Only Xenoblade Chronicles 3, but really in order to understand it has characters from the first two games as well and kind of connects all the games. And so I don't understand how it was made because it is so there's not that many people on the planet that have played all those games.

And I mean, probably more than you think. Like, I mean that series has done well enough that.

That's true.

Like, it's probably more than you think.

That's fair. It's just that it's not something that would gather in any new fans. The game, the dlc is for the fans to just get more, you know, deeper in the lore and more excited about it. And I am one of those people and I enjoy. And. And just. Even just the systems of the mechanics of the game reminded me of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and why I like it. And so yeah, that. That's. That's my favorite out of all that I played, which I didn't play any 2025 games in 2025. Shocker. But it was a good time.

Yeah. I wasn't glaring at you. I was actually suppressing a yawn earlier.

So that's okay.

I think, you know, I have a few kind of like high water marks. I think the one that really just kind of like really clinched it for me this year though. And it's.

It's.

It's the game. Everybody sort of like. It's very divisive there, you know. But it's the game that ended up like sweeping all the different game awards stuff.

Y. Y.

And then, you know, oh no, they use gener AI generative AI to fill in a texture that's like. Yeah. And apparently some outlet that. I mean, they're probably bigger than us because a lot, you know, a lot of people are bigger than us. But like some like, kind of like nothing outlet was like, we're going to revoke your Game of the Year award that we gave you And I'm like. I'm like. I don't think they get too rap.

Far because indie devs. Did they use generative AI in their indie game? Well.

And, like, the thing is, they repl. So it was like, stand in textures.

Okay.

From what I understand, it was like, stand in textures and. But, yeah, we're Talking about Expedition 33, by the way, guys. And then, like, they. They ended up, like, patching it out, so it was like. It was either a mistake or something.

Some.

Whatever. Who knows? Whatever.

So I. I don't understand that, because I know video games that are powered by generative AI, they're often known as roguelikes. Yeah.

I mean, there's a whole conversation that's kind of, like, popped up about this, and there's a part of me that it's just like, like, listen, we. We've kind of, like, beat this one up and circled around this a few times, and I just think, like, it's. It's kind of like one of those things where, I don't know, it's mountains and molehills or mountains out of molehills kind of thing, where it's just like. Dude, like, this just. I don't know, this is kind of like missing the forest for the trees kind of deal stuff.

Yeah. So, yeah, I'll throw it out there for just a second. We don't have to stay here. In fact, I don't want to stay here, but I do. I do want to state I understand the ethical dilemma. Yeah. Large language models using other people's artwork.

Dude.

Yeah, I get that. And. And that. So I should. I actually shouldn't make light of that. So I apologize. We can move forward. Yeah.

Well, it's just like. I don't know. It's just like.

It's.

Yeah. Yeah. I guess at the same time, it just feels like a. Just kind of a insane overreaction. I think the game is pretty.

I don't know the nature of how it was used. Yeah. Yeah.

I think it does a really, like, you know, just. I think it does a really masterful job of recontextualizing what an RPG could be. I kind of love the fact that it's as French as it is. I think it's like, that's sort of an interesting and refreshing take in video game spaces that are so heavily dominated by, like, Western American sort of developers and narrative styles and. And sort of Eastern, you know, Japanese developers. And so it was like, I think, getting, you know. Yes. There's a lot of reasons to sort of Mock the French and belittle them. Lots of reasons. You know, it's like, I'm sorry your country sucks, but at the same time, like, what came out, like, like, yeah, it's a pretty masterful game. And so, like, it's like, it was like the thing that just like, like, stuck with me the most. Like, I. I will say that I think, you know, and. And hopefully I'm hopeful that we'll get to do an episode on that this year that's kind of like one and. Because, like, I'd love to have a conversation about that, the narrative. And frankly, I think in the third act, the game just sort of like, loses the plot. But, you know, I'm not trying to spoil anything. I just think interesting. Like, yeah, so, yeah. But, yeah, I played some other stuff. Like, you know, honestly, going back and playing Mega Man X this year was kind of a delightful experience. Like, yeah, man, give me, like, a new appreciation. I like those games before, but, like, I didn't have like, the love that, like, you did for that, so. But yeah, I like going back to Mega Man X. I. I do like a few standouts. Like, I said, the big One was Expedition 33, but I think I'd be remiss if, like, I didn't sort of like remnant 2. I played the mess out of that game. Like I said, I got the platinum for it this year. It's like, I. That game is really pretty special. Like, it's not. It doesn't verge into like, must play territory, in my opinion, but it's a very, like, very strong should play. I think it does. It really. It does kind of a lot with a little. The way that they reuse some of that, like the, The. The maps and just the way that it kind of does like this. It mixes the tiles and everything, like, and it's just. Yeah, I think Remnant's pretty fantastic. I had a great time with that. It did very much like. It did very much feel like we have destiny at home kind of thing.

Oh, okay.

But I mean, it's like, it's a third person shooter and it's got sort of. It's got like. I. I know that like, the original Remnant, like, some people described it as like third person shooter meets souls likes. And I would say, like, that's kind of there, but I don't know. Anyways, Remnant two, I thought was pretty cool. Had a great time with that. I think I had a couple surprises, and it's like I played something cozy or sort of like almost like chill experiences. So like, and we, we just talked about not too long ago, but like Dragon Quest Builders, man. Yeah, that game is a gem. It's like I'm, I'm really kind of excited to maybe check out Dragon Quest Builders 2 this year maybe. I just really, really enjoyed my time with that. I, I think like, it was kind of like it caught me, it kind of took me by surprise, caught me a little off guard and I kind of fell in love with that game. And I think one of the things I really love about is it's just very unassuming. Like it's a game where it's like, it doesn't scream for your attention. It's just like, hey, you want to come out, out, come hang out and build stuff and like hang out in like a Dragon Quest world. And I'm like, yes, yes, I do. I want to do those things.

Yeah.

So I, I had a lot of fun with that. I think the other games that kind of like. And it's two and kind of caught me by surprise. It was sort of the sea and then I went back and actually played the game before that from I think Giant Squids, the developer. But I went back and played the Pathways and it's just like, man, like those games are just very much like vibe games, just like kind of like chill. They're like, they're like if Journey had like a little bit more of a gaminess to it and like some combat and stuff like that or you know, but they're, they're very like journey adjacent kind of in that sort of like I just, I, I had a ton of fun with them, if maybe fun isn't the right word. I enjoyed them and. But it was like very, very chill. Just like very like kind of like, hey, you can kind of get in here and vibe and just sort of have a good time. I think out of the two, in my opinion. So I think sort of the sea kind of takes it a little bit over the Pathless, where the Pathless. I think there's like a little bit more like narrative there. I just think frankly sort of the sea is like, like got like it's, it's gameplay elements or it's, it's hooks are a little bit better. And so yeah, and it's there. There's also Sword of the Sea is very, very short, whereas the Pathless, I, I think that that took me about 15 to 20 hours, so. Whereas sort of the sea was like four to six. So. But yeah, that's like the really, the high, the high points I mean, the, the only thing I played this year that I really didn't like. Oh, yeah, I did. I did play. Missed. I forgot about that.

Yes.

I never, I never beat that, but I did play that. Oh, I like that. Going back to that was pretty cool. That's, that's why I wasn't in my Beatdown Gotcha thing. I didn't beat it, but I did play it. That was a good time. Like, I played the, the, the Mist reboot from a few years ago, and that was pretty cool. That, that's actually a pretty transformative experience just because, like I said, the free, the free camera and everything right when we did the episode on it, like, I talked about that. So, yeah, I did. I really like dredge too. I thought that was pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah, just pretty cool. I think it was kind of disappointing because, like, the story was really good, but it also, in my opinion, felt like, felt like it fell a little flat. And it's like. And I think, like, that's the thing. It's just like I kind of come back to this all the time. I just think, I think with horror in particular, like getting satisfying resolutions, satisfying, like endings is really hard, like in horror books, like in horror stories and horror movies. And I think with like, it's like sort of a horror type game kind of thing, maybe even like a bit of a thriller. And like, they, I just, Yeah, I always really like that game. So. Yeah, I mean, like I said, the only thing that I played that I didn't like this year was that was freaking Talos Principle.

Talos.

And it's just like, it just kind of like cemented like, why I just don't like, I think like really puzzle heavy games because it's like, I could figure this out, but like, this isn't why I come. Like, I don't come to play video games, to be like, I'm so smart, I can figure out your dumb little puzzle. Like, and I'll dance for you like a stupid little rat in a cage. Like, nah, man, I ain't doing that.

Yeah, it, it, I, I, I did like it. I find it actually pretty satisfying to be able to, to figure out those kinds of things, those kind of. Because it's kind of like a logic puzzle puzzle, the way that it's set up. So I did like Talos Principle outside of the, the, the odd kind of narrative things that it does and places that it goes there. But we have a whole episode on that with Dorian, one of our patrons.

That, you know, it wasn't Dorian, dude, come on.

Dorian.

It was Spike, dude.

It was Spike. That's right, man. Why was I thinking. Because he's playing it at the same time.

He's a total chump, but at least I know who he is. You see that? Like, you come in here and try to steal my name, but I know who you are. Whereas, like, Jack Wagon over here.

I don't recall. I guess it was towards the beginning of the year.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because I think. I think he talked about it in the Discord at the same time. And so.

Yeah.

That's why I was getting that confusion there. Yeah. I guess. I guess some more of the standouts for me. I did actually, like, you know, I can't remember if that was even on your list, but Pokemon Arceus.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We did play that.

That one was. It's.

I didn't count. I can't. I didn't. Reason it wasn't on my list is because I didn't count it because it was a podcast game.

It was a podcast game. That makes sense. But that one, it's probably my favorite Pokemon game. Like, I. I like the evolution of the formula there. Yeah. With. With that Legend series. I like. I like what they're doing there. Yeah. Especially the focus on catching and catching different kinds and things like that.

So I played. So. So far, I'm missing two. So I played 24 games this year. But whatever. I'll probably. You know, I should probably just find, like, a much better way to track all this stuff.

Sure.

Than the current system I'm using. But, yeah, no, RCS was good. Like. Like, I actually kind of had fun with it. Definitely kind of hit a point where it's like, yeah, Pokemon's just not really my thing. And. But yeah.

So, yeah, like you mentioned, Dredge was really good. I was surprised at how much I got into Slay the Spire as well. And I say got into it. Not that I dumped a ton of time into that game, but how much it kind of hooked me. It got its hooks.

Yeah. It's a.

You know, it's a.

It's a tricky little. It's a potent little bugger. It'll get you. It'll get you. Careful.

Yeah. Because that one, to me, was unassuming, you know, so. But. But we have episodes on. On most of those games, honestly. Except we don't have an episode on. On Future redeemed Xenoblade Chronicles 3. We'll need to remedy that.

I don't know.

I was gonna say sooner rather than later, but we'll see. We'll see about that. But those are the games that we played in 2025. I think 2025 was a year to focus on backlog games. It's not that they're there. Well, I mean, actually, I said that I didn't play any 2025 games. I did Mario Kart World. Genius. And I enjoy that one.

I did play that. I didn't beat it, though. Yeah.

Okay.

The place.

Okay.

Yeah, that was good.

It's.

It's definitely, like, one of those things that I think in the years to come, it will probably become the best Mario Kart game. But I think as it currently stands, it does feel like, a little empty, a little, like, featureless in a sense. Just like. It just. Yeah. Where it's like. And it's. It's kind of hard because coming off of, like, a deluxe or whatever they call it, like.

Right.

That's a really, like, tight package. There's a lot of content in there, a lot of tracks, so. But yeah, yeah, yeah, Mario Kart World.

Is a great game. It does some cool things. The way that it has you going from track to track, the way that it is an entire world, that's pretty ambitious. Pretty cool. While at the same time, it does, like, 75% of the game feels like more Mario Kart. You know, like, they just perfected it with Mario Kart 8. That a lot of it feels like a lot of world feels like more eight. Yeah. But, yeah, hopefully they do continue to build that out more, but I do enjoy that game quite a bit. So that's the only 25. 2025 game that I played over the course of the year, and I think that one was worth it. But other than that, I was. I was mostly playing the back, which I'm. I'm happy to do. You know, this podcast is the backlog breakdown. So, yeah, we're seeking to do.

Yeah. And I think, you know, sort of looking at next year, there's a few games that I'm pretty. Like, that. That control game that's coming out looks pretty interesting. Pragmata looks pretty cool to me. Just. I was gonna try and pull up a list here, but whatever. Okay. But, yeah, I mean, like, there's a couple. There's an expansion for Diablo 4 that's coming out that I think I. I like Diablo 4 a good bit. So. Yeah. But, yeah, I honestly, like I said, my. My big thing that next year is I'm. I'm just. Just trying to not, like, spend money on and buy video games. Next year. So there's that.

But yeah, I agree. So there's nothing that I'm super excited about. There are a number of games that I'm interested in for 2026 for this year that are coming out and just some of the ones that I've written down are the Adventures of Elliot. I mentioned that one before. The demo makes a really good first impression in my estimation. And I love that HD 2, 2D, HD, whatever that, that art style. I love the games that use it as well. So I think that's going to be a great game. Dragon Quest 7 reimagined looks like a great game. I'm interested to see what Dusk Bloods is for Switch 2. It sounds like it might be more of a PvP game. So I don't know if it's going to be like the, the Elden Ring Night Rain or what, what, what exactly it's going to be, but I want some more information on that because I do like, you know, Bloodborne is one of my favorites. So is Dusk Blood's going to be anything like that? I don't know. Mina the Hollower is coming out from the Shovel Knight guys from Yacht Club Games.

Yeah, I don't know, man. That one kind of like that. I don't know, man. I. That's. That's. There's. There's been some troubling news come out about that. That one.

Oh, okay.

It's like they. So, yeah, I'm.

I like, I, I guess I'm out of the loop.

Yeah. There's been. It just. It's like. It sounds like the, the, the development cycle has been like, pretty.

Rough.

Yeah. Problematic. Like they've. They've run into some stuff here, so.

Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, yeah, well, I, I suppose we'll see. The last one that I have written down is just slay the Spire 2, because the first one's good, you know.

Yeah.

It's just. I'd be interested to see what they have. So. So none of those are like, I'm gonna be waiting, you know, day one purchases for me. None of them really at this point. So there's nothing necessarily. Which means it's another year to focus on the backlog. You know, that's a good thing. There are still games from previous years that I do want to pick up. You know, Dragon Quest 1 and 2 came out this past year. Even though I've played those, I want to pick up Dragon Quest 3, that remake, which came out a couple years ago now. So there are always more games to Play. I'm not complaining absolutely in the least. It's just. As I look at 20, 26, there's nothing that I'm like, oh, I absolutely have to have that day one. Which is fine. I have plenty, plenty, plenty of games to play already.

Yeah, I mean, there is a lot of, like, really cool and sort of interesting stuff coming out. Sort of going through a list here. You know, that Crimson Desert game is coming out, which, like, it's. It's one of those things that just like it. Like, I remember that trailer. Just, like, look completely unreal. Okay, but Resident Evil Requiem is coming out next year, so it's kind of like a.

Right. Yep.

And, like, that's exciting. You know what I'm saying? There's a new Mario tennis game coming out, so it's like. There's some, like, interesting stuff that, you know. Yeah, the. But yeah, anyways, there's. There's a pile of really interesting stuff, just. But if I'm being honest, like, none of it kind of like, is absolutely must play for me. It's more like, hey, like, I hope this is cool. I hope this is good. And I. I think it will be interesting next year, especially to see how Grand Theft Auto 6 actually sort of like.

Oh, sure does.

If it, you know, if it actually hits that date, like, I. I think it's gonna. Like, that game's just gonna be massive. So.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think it's gonna sell well. And I'm still not gonna play it.

Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna play it either. Oh, Fable is coming. It's a. Is slaughter for next year. So. Yeah, we'll see. But. But yeah, I think, you know, but honestly, I think I'm more excited about, like, you know, we've got some stuff sort of. Of cooking in the background, and hopefully next year will be a year where we get to sort of. I don't want to use the word unleash, but sort of reveal some of the stuff that's been going on in the background.

Yeah, yeah, we got some plans.

I think there's some, like, cool games potentially. Like, you know, we. Like I said the. The Patreon stuff hasn't been finalized. Like, patrons still have to vote, but we've got some pretty cool games sort of in the mix. Just like, we've got bravely default hd. Somebody actually nominated Lord of the Ring, Gollum, which I like. Listen, that's not gonna be a good. That's not a good game.

Right.

But I think it would be One really kind of funny, but also kind of really eye opening to just see how like, like how bad a video game can actually be. Links Awakening was suggested. Wind waker was suggested. Hades 2 tunic a game about digging a hole. SMT 5 Vengeance somebody wants to do an episode on Expedition 33. We've got a couple topics. So it's like I'm like most of those I'm like pretty stoked on. Like, I obviously like, I'm really kind of pulling for Wind Waker. I want Wind Waker to hit so badly to win a slot, so.

Nice. Well. And you know what? Even if there's nothing that's must buy right now, 2026 is gonna have a good at least a fair share of Shadow Drops, right? Games that I think of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Even how Nintendo announced it and was like, yeah, it's coming in like three months or two months or whatever after the summer, this huge game, you know, and. And it's been quite a while since that release. So, you know, we're. We're about due for another Xenoblade Chronicles, quite possibly. We'll see about that. But speaking of Shadow Drops, is that I actually do have a few awards that I want to give out. And the, the first award that I have is actually the Best Shadow drop award from 2025. It's always, it's always fun just to come together and hand out a few awards, talk about a few games. We don't even have to talk about the games, but at least, at least give some awards out. And the best Shadow drop definitely from 2025 has to go to Hollow Knight Silksong because it only took seven years to Shadow Drop. So that one is definitely the best one because both those things are true. Everyone was waiting and then they were like, oh yeah, it comes out next week.

Yeah, I guess I'm gonna sort of like. And I talked about some of my highlights, but I'll give it out some awards here. I think. Yeah, it is a game that I played, but honestly I'm just gonna say like, yeah, you're all that and a bag of chips. I'm gonna sort of like throw that to Expedition 33.

Okay.

Like, it is, it is kind of like it's. It's a bit of a real one.

Yeah. Okay, so just because we've already mentioned it a couple times, I'll skip the line here. I did have an award to give out and it's the Wee Wee Award. And that one goes to. Or I mean the Wee Wee Award. And you know what? You're so Pokemon Legends Z to A almost took it. It was almost the most French game that came out this year, except, oh, wow, that Claire Obscure, Expedition 33 came along with it, and it's striped shirts, and it just snatched it out.

Dude. Freaking mimes, man. Yeah, psychotic mimes.

Yeah, so. So it gets the Wee Wee Award as well.

The Wee Wee Award. Oh, man.

At least it's not the Wii U award. That would be pretty poor. Anyways, that was kind of an awkward joke, but I do have another award, which is the Most Awkward Beach Scene Award. Oh. What games have you been playing, Josh? I'm sure you're asking yourself, but the Most Awkward Beach Scene Award definitely goes to Death Stranding 2. So that game is on the beach.

You just like.

You.

You're loving this.

I am. I am. Yeah. We had our pickle talk earlier, and so here we are with. With the awards. It's just. It's just a lot of fun. I've got two more awards. Do you have any more to hand out?

Not really. I don't. You know what, though? I think mine are a little more like, like, sincere, a little more earnest. And it's. And again, it's sort of like. Like, well, and I. I've used this before, but this is for a game that I played this year.

Okay.

How do I want. I. I guess it's. It's. It's. It's not you, it's me. And it's. And it's not a game from this year, but it's Astrobot, man. Like, I think it was just like, we. It's just like, I really did want to get the platinum for that, and Megan ended up getting the platinum right now. But, like, I just kind of came to terms with the fact that, like, platformers and me, we're just not like that anymore. I don't know if we ever were like that, but. And so it's kind of like, I recognize that that game is awesome, but I just. There's also a part where I was like, I'm just. I'm not doing that. Like, I look at some of those challenges and I'm like, I'm not doing that. That's stupid. I'm not doing that thing.

Yeah, yeah. So that makes sense. That makes sense. There you go. Well, Astrobot, I believe there. There was a game in that series before Astrobot. Right. Rescue Mission. Was it one. And Astrobot, I guess technically you could think of it as a sequel. Well, the award that I have here is for the best sequel. And this comes in a year where there were a lot of sequels, right? Hollow Knight, there was Death Stranding, there was Kingdom Come, Deliverance, and even Hades. But none of those actually get the best sequel award. To me. To me, the best sequel award goes to the Switch two. That's the best sequel that came out this year is the console. So. Congratulations.

Pretty. Pretty terrible. I'll tell you what, I've got one.

Okay. Still thinking about it.

There's a couple games that came out last year that I do want to sort of like. Like, give some flowers too. Like, obviously, like, Hades 2 is kind of a big deal. Like, if. If I was giving an award to Hades 2, it'd be like, oh, surprise. It's really good. Like, yeah, didn't see that one coming. Kind of like.

Because it was in Early Access.

Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I. I don't know. The output from that city is so inconsistent.

Right?

Like, you know. No, but I think. And these are. These are two games that I have not played, but I did pick up. But, like, I think, you know, the best. The best how.it's the best comic book video game. Oh, that isn't a Marvel game. And it's Dispatch. I have not played that. But, like, everything about that looks really compelling. It's sort of. It's a sort of a homage or a spiritual successor to those telltale games. And I think it looks really cool. And I haven't played it at all, so it could be. It could be absolute garbage. But even if it's absolute garbage, it's probably better than most Marvel content.

Oh, yikes. I don't know. That's nice.

It's not nearly as clever as some of the slop that you've been throwing around.

I mean, it's definitely better than at least what the movies have been for the past few years. So I'm sure. I'm sure it's better written. Well, we've mentioned this game a few times, but for my final award, it's the Just for the Heck of It award. It goes to Hades, too.

Just for the heck of it. You know what?

There were some more, like, vulgar ways that I could go about it because we've made jokes like that, I believe, when we did the episode, you know, but. So I decided to keep it soft pg, just for the heck of it.

There's. There's another game that came out last year that I picked up, and I'm really kind of like, keen to get into, just because I've heard some really interesting things. And it's like, I don't have anything clever but like Absolum or Absolum. Yeah. A B S O L U M. It's like basically a roguelike Brawler, like, and it's like. And I think it's one that I'm gonna try and talk Megan into playing with me.

Nice.

I love Brawlers and I've heard really great things about this one. And so I'm, I'm pretty, pretty, pretty stoked to like get into it and to check that out. So. Yeah.

Did you pick up. I don't think you did, but did you pick up a Marvel Cosmic Invasion? You mentioned Marvel earlier.

I did not.

Mentioning Brawl.

I did not. I've heard it's. It's pretty good. You know, it's like, it's. Dotemu is attached to that somehow, so. And like, they're just. They're kind of on fire. They're so hot right now. But yeah, yeah, dude. But yeah, congratulations to all that. That really cool stuff.

Good job, guys. You were the games of 2025. You did it. You exist. Not every game can say that, but you can because you exist.

And yeah, you've got your locked and loaded list prep for 2026. I need to do that myself, but I don't know, man.

It.

You know, I'm. I'm kind of okay with this being like a little bit of a lighter fare episode. I think, you know, we. We've sort of unloaded some beefy boys on. On folks in the past. But before we land the plane, I think there are some forms that must be observed.

Oh, that's right. We do have a. Well, what is that?

Here comes a new challenger.

That's right. It's our challenges. So it's 2026. What challenges do we have that we want to face in the coming year or at least to kick off the year? Well, my challenge is going to be absolutely cliched, and that is that the holidays are over and so I need to start calorie counting again.

Really?

I would put it at, you know, a specific kind of amount of pounds that I want to lose. But I think. I think if I focus on the habit of calorie counting first, then it kind of goes downhill from there, which is helpful. So that is my challenge for the next two weeks, is to start calorie counting now that we're past all of the. All of the different pies and calorie dense meals of the holidays.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

I have something comparable. I just need to Sort of be a lot more intentional about my health. Like I need to start. Start watching what? Like I do need to clean my diet up. I also need to just start making sure that I'm doing some weight training, resistance training a lot more often. And I mentioned it earlier, like my. A big challenge for the year is like I'm just gonna like, I'd really rather not buy any video games. Like. Yeah, we'll see, we'll see. I, you know, we'll see. We'll see if I can stay strong or I will collapse like a stupid little baby.

You, you mentioned earlier that I do have my locked and loaded list and I do feel like I'm stretching a little bit with that. Between that and the Patron games, I don't know if I'll be able to finish that out. So I guess that kind of works as a year long challenge that's just kind of effectively what it turns into. As we mentioned on the bite sized from last week as well. So that's gonna be fun. So that is our challenge form. We'll pick that back up next month when we take a look at the first episode of next month as well. But we do have another that I kind of skipped over earlier and that's our community shout outs. Because we really appreciate you guys who make up our community that we get to, you know, kick stuff around with. And this week my.

To varying degrees.

To varying degrees.

We appreciate them. To varying degrees.

Yes, we feel feelings. Some are positive, some not so much, but ones that we want to highlight for good or ill. Sort of like our awards. So, so think of this as like a shout out award and you can take it as a positive or a negative depending on if you want it. Mine. The, the, the one that I would like to give out to is Bergen in the Discord just because he talks about his love for, for Xenoblade, talks about his love for a number of different games and series that I, he does provoke you and I appreciate his unhinged contributions. So thank you for being for, for, for being you and being unapologetically you.

I guess.

I guess it's fun.

I want to shout out, you know, I've got a couple here. Well, it's a little bit more than a couple, but shout out. First and foremost, friend of the show, fellow Pone. You know, Pone e Porcho is doing a bit of a rebrand and I'm here for it. He has like a new theme song that.

Wait, so something new came from out from under the porch?

Yeah. Well, no, it didn't come from out from under the force. It came from the porch. Under the porch.

But it is under the porch right now.

Well, it's on the Internet. It's in your Internet feeds right now. But he has a new ad spot. He, you know, know, came up with some new. He's got a new thumbnail thingy. Yeah, it's. It's fun. It's fun. Yeah, he's a. Yeah, you should listen to him. You should check him out. He's a good time. The other thing is I. I just want to shout out Akasha. He joined. Jumped in on as a new patron on our Patreon.

All right.

That so, yeah. Congratulations. Well, congratulations. Well, yeah. Yeah, I guess that is like something to be celebrated. Like if you like.

We.

We're glad you're here.

Yeah.

I'm very tired. I am incredibly tired at this point. Like, I don't know how I'm gonna make it through a bro hang like this. It's gonna be dangerous. Anyways, yeah. Glad to have you, Akasha. Like, it's. Glad to have you a board man. But yeah, but I think also, like, you know, just kind of like it. Like, I think it. It. I'm going to take a second here and I think it would be good to, you know, if my. Oh, if I turn my.

I don't know what happened.

My. My mouse wasn't working for a second. I was trying to like, change something, but. Wow, that's weird. My mouse isn't working. Sick. But I wanted to just take a second here and read through some of. Well, just like sort of give a shout out to all our patrons.

So.

And of course, like, you know, recent addition is. Is a. Is Akasha. We do have the. The Unhinged Lunatic Bergen. Our friend Reed Butterfield. Gracious Josh. The Boulder. Boulder. The boldest of the Boulder boulders. We've got Mckelvis, Sojourner, Quick Mark, Nate Foot, also Fake Nate, also known as Fake Nate. We've got Porcho. We've got Alex Big Chill Castellanos, Mark Kozlowski. Kozlowski, you know him. And Quick Mark actually had a conversation about it. But Mark K, he's a. He's a sweetie and glad to have him on here. Mark K. Okay, Mark. Oh, okay, Mark. We gotta be careful with that one. But we've got the. The caveman lawyer. The judge is. Is in there. We've got Dorian Taylor, our buddy, you know, AKA the. The man with the golden pipes. We've got Trash Turkey. We've got Paul Idol, Techno Funk boy, Wesley Ray the Henchin dad himself, and Micah Gear Solid. All of those guys have been partnering with us for, you know, for some of them for years at this point in time. And it's like, you know, without them, this show wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

So, yeah, thank you, guys. Shout outs to y'. All.

Yeah, that's pretty cool. So thanks, guys. But, yeah, so, yeah, that's. Yeah, thanks. That's my shout out.

Nice.

That being said, dude, it's been a night. Like I said, I'm. I'm fading fast. If we're gonna record a bro hang after this, then we gotta. We gotta just land the plane. And I'm using all the bits right here so that I can listen to these idiots jabber on.

I wasn't sure how self aware you were.

Like, you know, I'm not being. I'm not being nearly as nice as I'd like to be, but I'm tired, so. All right, well, let's land this plane. Josh. Let's wrap it up, guys.

Keep beating down your backlogs and we'll keep breaking down the benefits.

Sam.