Why You Should Play

Welcome to the debut episode of Little WYSPer!Once in a while a game comes along and doesn't just meet expectations but absolutely smashes them. Such is the case with the exquisite Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It's a truly special experience that left me thinking about it days and weeks after I finished it. That amount of time pondering left me with much to discuss, which is why I had to recruit two friends who thought likewise join me in such a discussion.What were our expectations going into it? What did we love about the combat? Which characters were our favorites inside and outside of it? What were our favorite story beats? What was our ending choice, and why? That and more on this nearly 3-hour episode!And the music. Oh, the music... (chef's kiss) magnifique. For more from my friends, check out their content!Dorian - TwitchRioichi - YouTube

With the release of the successor to the Nintendo Switch, my dear friend Sean Mason and I wanted to run through the very underappreciated Nintendo Switch Online library to provide our dear listeners with some more under-the-radar picks. What's a must-play? What are other recommendations? Moreover, what's a game we'd like to see be added to the service? We answer all those for each platform - along with some recommendations from our friends.Sean is the co-host of the awesome Backlog Brainrot and Games Over Plastic podcasts. Please check them out!

The first mainline episode of the year returns to where it all began: with my true dear friend Sean Mason to wax poetically about Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, a Paper Mario homage he holds in such high regard as among his top 10 games of all time.Mr. Mason provides an academic lecture on its similarities and differences to the Paper Mario franchise. We then discuss the dynamic turn-based-timing combat that allows for a variety of approaches.On top of that, we analyze the story setup with the trio of deep layered characters and the extensive lore of the surprisingly deep world they're a part of.Amidst all of this is a plethora of side content (a good portion of which I missed!) filling out a surprisingly layered map.I'm not from Buenos Aires, and I say play the game!Show artwork illustrated by Connor McGwire

(Apologies for the lower quality audio, I had to extract from the existing video export!)It's time once again to bring forth a group of my wonderful friends who chose games they thought were underrated or went underappreciated during another wonderful year of gaming that is 2024!Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this video and to all who watch and/or listen! This show wouldn't be the same without you!Here's to bigger and better things for all of us in 2025!

As we fast approach PlayStation's 35th Anniversary, it was time to reunite with my friend, the awesome Radec‬. Together, we gush about Puppeteer: one of the most uniquely imaginative pieces of the publisher's history - from the sadly now defunct Japan Studio. We discuss how it perfectly marries Japanese folklore and British sensibilities, while also elevating the traditional 2D platformer genre with a brilliant use of the camera and epic boss fights to produce a sensation hardly ever seen from the genre. And - yes - we lament both this game being natively stranded on hardware from 2 generations ago, as well as the near complete shutdown of Japan Studio. Find Radec on: YouTube X Find WYSP on: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠X

As we approach its 10th anniversary, my guest and I discuss the aspects of Transistor that have made it age like a fine wine: it's gorgeous character and environmental art design - as well as its dynamic, versatile and supremely satisfying combat - all contained within a world that has suffered an apocalyptic event but never succumbs to the usual drab and dour trappings of many others in the genre. So gather up your functions, disable your limiters, and enjoy our journey exploring Cloudbank. Support my guest and friend, Connor: Wishlist Defense of Nations on Steam Buy Metanoia - E-Book (Amazon) Buy Metanoia - Physical (Barnes & Noble) Find WYSP on: YouTube Twitter

NOTE: THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED BEFORE SABER INTERACTIVE CONFIRMED THAT THE REMAKE IS "ALIVE AND WELL". It was my immense honor, privilege, and blessing to be joined by MrMattyPlays to gush about the often far too maligned brilliance of Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. We discuss how it complements its predecessor in the locations it visits and even revisits, the themes it grapples with, and the characters it fleshes out. We also perform a check-up on both entries' developers, THAT remake, and the Star Wars IP. Special THANK YOUs to Lockmort for making this episode possible, and Kassel Labs for bringing my Star Wars crawl intro idea to life.

*** AUDIO VERSION OF YOUTUBE VIDEO *** It's been an eventful year in the games industry. From the many great releases to some that were not so great, all amidst a slew of layoffs, closures, leaks and hacks. Taking a step back: I wanted to do something in the spirit of the podcast. This episode serves to highlight a collection of games which released this past year that my friends and I felt needed more attention in the only way we knew how: to enthusiastically evangelize for them. Thank you to everyone involved in the making of both this episode and the episodes throughout the year. This podcast, and by extension myself, would be far less without you.

I collected all the Happy Points chatting about one of my biggest gaming surprises of the past few years, where you play as a tiny robot tasked with cleaning up both an entire house - and its occupants relationships! Plug into the adventure that is us spreading the happiness of this game's surprisingly rewarding gameplay loop, rich world, and eclectic cast of characters - and we explore the massive potential of Chibi Robo as a franchise! Dolphin Emulator - https://dolphin-emu.org/ Chibi Robo ROM - https://archive.org/details/Chibi-robo_plug_into_adventure

For the season of horror, I decided to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the release of the mesmerizing modern masterpiece of survival horror that is Signalis. My guests and I discuss why this game is so much more than just an amazing amalgamation of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, how it not only pulls from the best of those two revered franchises but stands on its own to be something truly transcendent. As if survival horror gaming inspiration wasn't enough: it also draws from horror film, television and even books to craft a rich world with dense lore that contains within it a surprisingly deep and impactful story. All of these factors are why this game will be ingrained within our memories for a very long time.

In another celebration of the release of Sabotage Studios' Sea Of Stars, we went back to their debut effort: The Messenger. My guest and I discuss how this complete package of a game - the gameplay, the art, the music, the writing - and, yes, even the story - produce something I consider one of the best gaming experiences I've had in the past few years. Furthermore, this sensational debut effort followed up by Sea Of Stars makes Sabotage one of the most imaginative and talented studios working today - and we don't bother with silly nitpicks like comma splices!

I decided it was mandatory that I do the other bookend game of the Ueda / Team Ico trilogy and - for this somewhat divisive but extraordinary work of interactive art - I was blessed enough to have on one of its biggest fans. Dustin Furman (Executive Producer of Last Stand Media) joins me to discuss why The Last Guardian - like its astonishing and iconic creation Trico - can be somewhat frustrating but is ultimately a misunderstood masterpiece. We examine the DNA taken from Ueda's two preceding entries, gush about the emotional impact from this journey of a boy and a bird dog, and how gameplay and story are expertly interwoven. Also, while you've likely never experienced a game quite like this - and we may in fact never see one quite like it ever again - fingers crossed we hear from Ueda-san soon.

On this episode: I brought on the mercurial talent known as Radec to discuss Ico, the first game from Team Ico led by auteur Fumito Ueda. We discuss how the limits of the PS2 hardware and its minimalist art style did not stop Ico from being ahead of its time to influence many of today's prominent developers due to its brilliant design of a single interconnected 3D space that still holds up 2 decades and 4 console generations later. Oh, and of course I did not miss an opportunity to pick Radec's brain on the potential of an Ico remake as well as a TV/Movie adaptation!

With the release of Sabotage Studios' Sea Of Stars looming, it was appropriate to look back upon what inspired it: Chrono Trigger. To have a discussion about such a pinnacle of JRPGs it required multiple guests, so I brought on 2 of the co-hosts of the wonderful Backlog Brainrot podcast to talk about why this game is so beloved, why it was so revolutionary, and - no - it really doesn't need a remake, but please just port it forward!

For this episode full of delicious cheese and cigarettes I was honored to be joined by Ben Smith, Associate Editor of Last Stand Media. We gush about why Vanquish is an over-the-top high-octane - but mostly overlooked - sparkling gem of a third-person shooter. It serves as a reminder of the times when video games didn't overstay their welcome, why PlatinumGames is so revered, and why Shinji Mikami is more than just the Resident Evil guy. Check out Ben's video: ⁠Vanquish - The LAST Great Shooter Ever... ⁠Ben Smith - Assoc Editor, Last Stand Media; Host, Handsome Phantom Podcast Handome Phantom Ben (Is Handsome) - YouTube BenSmith2588 - Twitter BenIsHandsome - Twitch Why You Should Play YouTube Twitter

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get so much enjoyment out of a pair of games involving a immature idiotic sociopath of a protagonist wielding a variety of ripoff lightsabers who performs a myriad of whacky side jobs, all oftentimes involving varying degrees of horny. Also you should do all of this while utilizing motion controls (did I mention this game is horny?) Thankfully I have one of the series' biggest fans to join me to make sense of it all, including what is a Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture. Twitter Youtube

For this episode, my buddy Cole (aka CompulsiveNerd) and myself gushed about the now revered developer Supergiant's debut effort, Bastion. We not only lauded how exceptional it is for an indie developer's maiden voyage, but also how much it informed their most recent release Hades, the game that would launch them into the stratosphere. Intro: "A Proper Story" - composed by Darren Korb - © 2011 Supergiant Games, LLC. All rights reserved. Outro: "In Case of Trouble", composed by Darren Korb - © 2011 Supergiant Games, LLC. All rights reserved. Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@WYSP_Pod⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@WYSPPod⁠

For the debut episode, there was little doubt who the guest would be. The only challenge would be what game. As it happens, it ended up being two games which I can't believe getting around to playing had taken me so long. Please enjoy my discussion of the wonderful pair of Axiom Verge games with everyone's friend Sean. Music The Axiom · Thomas Happ Axiom Verge (Original Soundtrack) ℗ 2015 Thomas Happ Games LLC To contact the podcast: wysppod@proton.me

A quick blurb about what this new adventure is all about.