Happy February, folks, and welcome back to The Punished Podcast! We’re certainly barreling through this year, for better or worse. If you need a distraction from the madness on TV, look no further than the world of video games.

For The Punished Podcast Episode 14, we’ve got a fun ~90 minutes teed up for you. In this episode, we crown our Fantasy Gaming 2024 winner (yay!) and host our 2025 draft, complete with an expanded league (double yay!!). This year’s rules follow a new dynasty format, which I do my best to outline in the episode.

I’ll keep the intro at that! Dive in and watch us compete for fame, glory, and—most importantly—precious bragging rights.

– David Silbert, Editor

The Punished Podcast Episode 14

Which one of our 2024 contestants—Team Amanda, Team David, and Team Sam—ended up victorious? Who will be battling it out for the crown in 2025? Find out in this action-packed, expletive-laden episode. Enjoy!

Note: We recorded this episode on January 9, days before Xbox’s Developer Direct and loooong before PlayStation’s latest State of Play. Games have since been announced; release dates have since been set. We’ve even seen a few Metacritic scores pop up. Bear all that in mind while listening!

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MP3 Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

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</button><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">David Silbert | Sam Martinelli | Amanda Tien | Gary Wilson | Allison McDaniel | Zack Gulinello</figcaption></figure>

Timestamps:

• 0:00 – Intro





• 2:46 – Welcome, Editorial Team!





• 3:23 – Thoughts on 2024 in Gaming?





• 5:38 – Recapping Fantasy Gaming 2024





• 11:57 – Our 2024 Winner Is…!





• 15:03 – Reflecting on the Results





• 19:39 – David Fails at Math





• 21:45 – Revealing Our Winner’s Fantasy Prize!





• 24:29 – Introducing Our Newest Fantasy Competitors!





• 26:05 – Explaining the New Dynasty Format





• 28:41 – Revealing the Draft Order





• 29:15 – Any Strategies for Dynasty?





• 30:24 – Setting Some Ground Rules





• 31:29 – 2025 Fantasy Draft Time!





• 1:35:58 – Post-Draft Recap!





• 1:39:19 – Parting Thoughts and Outro

Song Credits:

• “Main Theme (feat. Cassie Wei)” from Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist (composer: Mili)





• “The Silver Sisters” from Hades II (composer: Darren Korb)





• “Straight Chaser” from Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (composer: Satoshi Okubo)





• “Gustave” from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (composer: Lorien Testard)

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2024 Fantasy League, Final Standings!

Who ended 2024 atop the Fantasy mountain? Check out our final standings:

Click to reveal (spoilers!)

In Third Place…

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In Second Place…

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…And in First!

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Turns out, Phil’s mock reviews did let me down. Thankfully, Hellblade II didn’t stop my team from taking the crown in 2024!

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2025 Fantasy Gaming Draft Recap

Want the quick details on how our 2025 draft went down? Here’s the recap:

Click to reveal (spoilers!)

1. Gary – Monster Hunter Wilds





2. Allison – Slay The Spire 2





3. Zack – Grand Theft Auto VI





4. Sam – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond





5. Amanda – Elden Ring Nightreign





6. David – Ghost of Yōtei





7. David – Hades II





8. Amanda – South of Midnight





9. Sam – Sid Meier’s Civilization VII





10. Zack – Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater





11. Allison – Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault





12. Gary – Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii





13. Gary – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33





14. Allison – Discounty





15. Zack – Avowed





16. Sam – Doom: The Dark Ages





17. Amanda – Split Fiction





18. David – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach





19. David – Hollow Knight: Silksong





20. Amanda – The Witcher IV





21. Sam – Mina the Hollower





22. Zack – Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist





23. Allison – Blade Chimera 





24. Gary – Replaced





25. Gary – Fable





26. Allison – Lost Records: Bloom & Rage





27. Zack – Pokémon Legends: Z-A 





28. Sam – Assassin’s Creed: Shadows





29. Amanda – Blue Prince





30. David – Deltarune: Chapter 3 & 4





31. David – Lost Soul Aside





32. Amanda – Mafia: The Old Country 





33. Sam – Mixtape





34. Zack – 2 Point Museum





35. Allison – 33 Immortals





36. Ga