Survival game Pacific Drive has crafting and personality, but we'll see whether that's a marriage that works, especially given the scant guidance you receive in navigating its world. Conversely, Pokémon Ranger offers far too much guidance for its own good.

What We're Playing

01:02 Mark: Fight'n Rage (sebagamesdev, 2017)

08:09 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024)

19:23 GOOF: Pokémon Ranger (HAL Laboratory, 2006)

29:08 Feature Game: Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios, 2024)

SHOUT

52:03 Caitlin: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)

54:00 Mark: Caves of Qud (Freehold)

It is pretty depressing that Tango Gameworks' reward for the ebullient and excellent Hi-Fi Rush was closure, but we get our own closure by eulogizing their work. There's also much discussion of action RPGs this week, assuming a broad enough definition.

What We're Playing

01:02 Mark: Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco, 2021)

08:09 Caitlin: Diablo IV (Blizzard, 2023)

12:54 GOOF: Legacy of the Wizard (Nihon Falcom, 1989)

24:28 Feature Game: Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks, 2023)

SHOUT

48:27 Caitlin: Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (Blizzard)

49:53 Mark: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (From Software)

We shot them up last week, and this week we are beating them up. One wonders what them did to deserve all this violence, but we move on to more pressing questions--such as, what ground food is best? And, how many mechanisms is too much, and how many light years past that is Astral Ascent?

NB: The name of that weird creature in Golden Axe and Altered Beast is a "chicken leg."

What We're Playing

00:55 Caitlin: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead, 2024)

06:00 Mark: Streets of Rage 4 (Dotemu, 2020)

11:48 GOOF: Alien vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994)

19:37 Feature Game: Astral Ascent (Hibernia Workshop, 2023)

SHOUT

53:52 Caitlin: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare)

56:41 Mark: Metal Slug Tactics (SNK)

Mark is some sort of degenerate killjoy who doesn't like Tolkien much, but can Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor win him over regardless? Caitlin's death-march through all the Final Fantasy games continues, as does the mining of classic titles from the NES to fuel GOOF.

What We're Playing

01:04 Caitlin: Final Fantasy II (Square)

07:26 Mark: Have a Nice Death (Magic Design Studios)

12 :17 GOOF: Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (Namco)

23 :53 Feature Game: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith)

44:23 Spoilers begin

50:04 Spoilers end

SHOUT

51:57 Caitlin: LEGO Horizon Adventures (Guerilla)

53:39 Mark: Dreamcast Capcom VS SNK 2 in English and Terry Bogard in Street Fighter 6 (Capcom and kind of SNK)

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice tackles the issue of having a mentally ill protagonist head-on. How successful is the portrayal? And how good is the game itself? And perhaps most importantly, can we all get on the same page and acknowledge that Cain from Final Fantasy II (or IV, for you purists) was a massive douche?

What We're Playing

01:12 Caitlin: Hellcard (Thing Trunk, 2024)

05:14 Mark: Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster, 2022)

12:07 GOOF: Final Fantasy (yes, the FIRST one) (Square, 1987)

26:58 Feature Game: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Ninja Theory, 2017)

52:42 Spoilers begin

1:06:14 Spoilers end

SHOUT

1:06:46 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix)

1:08:20 Mark: Hades II (Supergiant)