Watch Out For Fireballs!

Hades is one of our most-requested games of all time. It struck a chord with tons of people when it released, drawing in gamers who had never given action roguelikes a chance before. With its snappy combat and charismatic takes on the Greek gods, it's hard to blame people for loving it. But how does it stand up to other roguelites, a diverse field with tons of heavy hitters? This week's highlighted project is "Clarion", an upcoming novel by author Nina Dunnic. Check out her work at ninadunic.com (http://ninadunic.com)! This is a preview of January's premium episode. Hear the whole thing by backing us at the $5+ tier at patreon.com/duckfeedtv, and also get access to every premium WOFF! we've done!

Thank you Abe! It's time to circle strafe the Monstrous Manual with Heretic! This Doom Clone has a lot of subtle improvements that make it more than just Doom with Wands. Listen in to find out more!

We spend a lot of time talking about the need for the video game equivalent of short story collections, and What remains of Edith Finch is about as close to that as we've gotten so far. Edith is returning to her long-abandoned home to learn about her family's curse... which has resulted in the tragic, unfortunate, and sometimes hilarious deaths of everyone related to her. Each of the stories is its own interactive vignette, casting us into a magically realistic tale to see what exactly happened, and what may be in store for Edith herself.

We answer your questions! We discuss Duckstream! We read your responses! What more could you want?

Hong Kong is revealing some deeper truths to our group of Shadowrunners, as we search for the truth about what happened to Raymond Black and try to learn what's amiss with the Walled City. We pick up in the middle section of the game, as we're taking on jobs to keep the lights on and give Auntie Cheng time to work. Shadowrun: Hong Kong continues to be a delightful short story collection of fun, tactical missions that uses its setting to great effect.

"Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good" month continues with the slightly worse but worthy follow up to the masterpiece Shadowrun Dragonfall. We've arrived in Hong Kong at the request of our adopted father but not all is what it seems. Please join us at patreon.com/duckfeedtv

This week continues the Last Castoff's journey, as they continue seeking out answers for what the Changing God was up to with his resonance chamber... The one we crashed into like a big ol' meteor. We head through the Valley of Dead Heroes and the Sanctuary at Miel Avest before ending up at The Bloom, a city within a dimension-spanning organism. We talk about the rest of the game, highlighting as many side quests as we found, and end up discussing how this game measures up to its predecessor. Is it fair to hold anything to the standard set by Planescape: Torment? Does treating that game as unassailable mean that CRPG storytelling peaked in 1999? Listen to find out! This week's highlighted project is Coming Out With Lauren and Nicole (https://www.comingoutpod.com), a podcast that hosts various LGBT+ folks to hear their coming out stories, using them as a launch pad for discussions on various related issues. Check them out!

What is the value of one game? There are big shoes to fill and then there are comically huge shoes that can be made into houses for little old ladies. That was the job of Tides of Numenera, an excellent short story compilation that fails to capture the emotional resonance of it's predecessor. Here us talk about the generalities and Sagus Cliffs in this episode before hitting the end game next week! This episode is brought to you by Duckstream! duckfeed.tv/duckstream

We had intended to make this month's topic VR, but instead we said almost everything we wanted to say during the Half-Life: Alyx episode. So, instead, we take even more of your questions before reading your thoughts about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, SUPERHOT, and Half-Life: Alyx. This episode's highlighted project is Waystar Corncob (https://dennisalison.podbean.com), a podcast that's about both I Think You Should Leave and Succession. And Gary was on a recent episode!

The Watch Out For Fireballs has been silent on the topic of The Half Life for a while now but it's time to wake up and smell the ashes! (I know this is mixing vortigaunt and g-man speak, and I don't care!) Half Life Alyx is our first major foray into VR and not likely to be our last. Alyx is a great game for this because it's dedicated to being a full franchise entry, a return to form, with few compromises. Though it's a little long and your experience will likely vary (that's the nature of VR), this game is a breath of fresh air. Thank you Elliot! If you want to hear the full episode, join us at patreon.com/duckfeedtv

This week we sit down to talk about the most innovative shooter we've played in years. Our unnamed protagonist receives a weird program called superhot.exe, and when he launches it he connects to a very strange first person shooter where time only moves when the player moves. As we (and he) play this game, the hooks set in, and a larger conspiracy reveals itself. SUPERHOT is a small game with a big impact, a massive indie success that takes the FPS genre and upends it by breaking it down into component parts and changing the way they move. It's absolutely worth your time. We also talk a bit about the related works SUPERHOT VR and SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete.

When they say nobody asked for this, that's Gary Butterfield erasure. I asked for this. I exist! I mean, sure, Adam Jensen is a pretty tough pill to swallow. He shaves his beard in an extremely obnoxious way. Further, this is clearly the middle chapter of a prequel trilogy, which might be the most direct recipe for an unimportant narrative. However....however.... All of the above, plus a regrettable marketing campaign, basically eclipsed the entire conversation about this immersive sim that plays incredibly well. This number is worth your time for level design alone. Hear us talk about why.

We've each had a Steam Deck for about a month, and we feel comfortable reporting... It's pretty great! This week's Topic has us discussing the Steam Deck in general, and how one should get into PC gaming in 2022. We also read your responses to October's games, which are Devotion, Strangeland, and the Evil Within 2. November's Games: - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - SUPERHOT - Half-Life: Alyx December's Games: - Torment: Tides of Numenera (two parts) - Shadowrun: Hong Kong (two parts) - Arcade Special 3 (for premium members)

Warning: Fluid chat! It's sort of like limbo, in that you're seeing how low you can go but instead seeing how divorced a grizzled dadtagonist can get. This is a good ass game despite a nonsense story. The biggest issue is it throws away it's biggest strength half way through, pulling you out of the genuinely innovative semi open world stealth and into a series of MindRealms(tm). Still, the play is the thing, and the play is good. Note: This is a preview! Hear the whole version, and hundreds of other exclusive shows, at patreon.com/duckfeedtv

An unnamed man wakes up outside of a macabre circus, and he must set about learning why he is there. This classic-style point and click adventure game tells a pretty standard psychological horror story with a lot of allusions and metaphor, which isn't going to be everyone's favorite thing. However, there is tons of great horror imagery and a few very rewarding puzzles to try to tackle. Our highlighted project this week is Sinclair Lore (https://www.youtube.com/c/SinclairLore), a YouTube channel run by our friends Sin and Sophie, where they talk about Bloodborne, Souls, and Elden Ring lore. Check them out!

(Cryptkeeper Voice) Spooky month begins with the ultimate heebie jeebie, a real Boo-riffic blunder! So buckle up boils and ghouls and non die-scary siblings alike. *Play Devotion before listening to this macabre tale of goof'em ups. Seriously, it's one of the best games we've done for the show and it's only 3 hours long. It's Silent Hill 2 tier. * Until next grime, fiends! BWahahahahahaha

We've narrowed down some of our distaste for certain popular games, especially from the past: they were made for kids. And kids' media can be sublime! But what makes a piece of kids' media, game or not, good or bad? What turns us off? How do they approach issues of ethics or morality? How much do they condescend? We also answer your questions and read your responses to September's games: BugSnax, Metal Gear Solid V, and Carrion. October's games are: - Devotion - Strangeland - The Evil Within 2 November's games are: - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Superhot - Half-Life: Alyx This week's highlighted creator is an upcoming experimental RPG called Purgatory Dungeoneer (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1963010/Purgatory_Dungeoneer/), which you can wishlist on Steam today. If you are a marginalized creator (non-cis, non-straight, non-white) you can submit your project for highlighting by emailing gary@duckfeed.tv

How far can an excellent premise carry a game? Looks like it's more than 2 hours but less than 5. Carrion has an unbeatable premise, a hall of fame premise, and aesthetics to back it up. Why on earth is it not more fun to play? Listen and find out! This is the preview version of this episode. If you want to hear the full episode, and many, many more, join us at patreon.com/duckfeedtv

Venom Snake still has some fights to fight, as we pick up Skull Face's trail in Afghanistan to experience the majority of what the Phantom Pain has to offer. As a genuine heads up, this episode might not be for you if you adore this game or Hideo Kojima's whole vibe. We clown on things while gushing about the play, which some people take us as completely hating the whole experience. If you will take that personally then please consider yourself forewarned. Thanks again to our executive producer Jade!

Thank you Jade! What do you do when there's a Kojima about? What do you do when a game has some of the best stealth action in video games, one of the most satisfying loops in video games, but punctuates it with some of the worst boss fights and clumsy exposition and plotting? It's a complicated game that gives us complicated feelings! Listen in if you want to hear us wrestle with Kojima's legacy, both as critics and as one current and one former fan. And if you want to support marginalized creators, check out Nine Noir Lives! A new point and click adventure game! https://www.nnlgame.com/