Watch Out for Fireballs!

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.

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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.

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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)

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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. 

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, a YouTube channel run by our friends Sin and Sophie, where they talk about Bloodborne, Souls, and Elden Ring lore. Check them out!

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(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

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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, 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

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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!

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!

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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/

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Bugsnax is a cute indie that caught a lot of attention with its catchy theme song, but did you know there's a whole game behind that song? We play this cute combination of Pokemon Snap and Ape Escape, navigating Snaktooth Island and catching bugs who happen to be snacks. The goal? To help the townspeople and learn the truth of what's really happening on this island, with these snacks who happen to be bugs.

A big thanks to Cody for executive producing this episode!

This week's highlight is Rod Symba, a musical artist who is looking to start scoring indie games. Check them out over at Instagram!

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Each quarter we dip into our big bag of questions, find the ones that have gone unanswered, and round them up for this bonus show. This quarter we cover a variety of topics, including demo disks, whether or not we'd like to Total Recall all media, the importance of user experience, and much more.

Thanks for your support!

We answer your questions, read your responses to August's games, and spend some time talking about the sorts of places that show up in games, and what we'd like to see more of, before announcing our slate for the best month of the year, October.

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Wario is one of Nintendo's secret best weapons. As "the opposite of Mario" he is an aesthetic triumph, indulging in every vice and drawing us in with his shamelessness. And for a while, he was the star of his own series of puzzle platformers on Nintendo portable systems. Wario Land 4 is an odd duck in that sub-series, with a more action-oriented presentation that doesn't leave the puzzles behind. And best of all? It hardly repeats itself, giving the player a buffet of unique visual and gameplay concepts. It's hard to recommend against this one.

This week’s highlight project is HuggableHipster, a video creator and game studio head who does video game let’s plays and deep dives on YouTube. Here’s her site, and here’s the channel. Enjoy!

Basch, Balthier, Ashe, Fran, and two associates continue their quest for magic rocks! Will the princess use the rocks or smash the rocks? Find out as we continue our exploration of this world spanning adventure. Though the dungeons take a wet fart at the end, the dialogue and presentation continue to be first in class.

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The land of Ivalice is a land in constant turmoil, and with Final Fantasy XII we find ourselves caught in the midst of a larger struggle that is obliterating the borderlands between two massive empires. This is how the stage is set for the twelfth entry in the Final Fantasy series, the first mainline entry of the series to get really weird with it.

This episode concerns itself primarily with the game's many new mechanics, and a general discussion of how they hang together. We then talk about the intro to the game, covering everything up through the mines on Bhujerba.

Big thanks to Nat for executive producing this episode.

Additionally, we would like to thank the creator we highlight this episode, Victoria, and her podcast We Happen to Be Trans, a pop culture podcast that, incidentally, is hosted by three trans women. Victoria is also part of a streaming collective called Transvengers which hosts Q&As for people curious about various aspects of LGBTQ+ life.

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Saving. When can you do it? When should you be able to do it? How does it change the rhythm of games? Also, man, what a fucking ripoff memory cards were.

We also answer your questions, announce September's games, and A BRAND NEW SHOW ON THE NETWORK.

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Jesse Faden has walked a rough road, one that leads up to the door of a secret government agency headquartered in a building that not everyone can see. It's the Federal Bureau of Control, they may have her brother held captive, and they are definitely overrun by a malignant interdimensional force.

This feels like a culmination of a lot of what Remedy has been working toward, and they achieved it by working against their strengths. Instead of a cinematic, on-rails narrative, Control lives in the details of its world and the SCP-like phenomena that fill it. And the combat isn't half bad... but it does wear out its welcome pretty fast.

Big thanks to Noel for executive producing this episode!

Also, check out this week's highlighted creation, An Ode to the End a podcast series of short transmissions from a number of possible apocalypses.

It's impossible to talk about some games objectively. Castlevania 2 has a lot of problems but unbeatable atmosphere for the NES, and the best soundtrack in the series (fight me), makes that go down oh so smooth. Let's get to collectin' ribs!

We'd also like to direct your attention to the Totally Trans Podcast Network which is an ongoing podcast about the search for the trans media canon.

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In the end, it was a story about family. In the beginning, too. It was really all a story about family. Children of Morta was made as an attempt to marry a roguelike game structure to a fixed, detailed story... and it works. The Bergsons are a tight-knit family who live in the shadow of Mount Morta, and they are charged with being Guardians of all the land. When Corruption starts appearing, everyone in the clan pitches in, with most venturing down into the tunnels and town to stop the crisis.

The individual characters all have their own gimmicks, and while some work better for us than others, we appreciate their presence. But for as much as we like the broad strokes of the concept, the crowd control action RPG gameplay lands a little flat for us. But it might work for you!

Big thanks to this episodes executive producer Julia for getting us to play this neat little game.

This episode is also our first whack at promoting smaller projects from diverse listeners. So check out Teo and the Cosmic Neighborhood, a Brazillian brother and sister pop band with influences from bossa nova and video game music. Check out their sweet animated music videos on their YouTube page.

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Do games stand up to editing the same way other works do? How is editing used in games? Could they stand more editing? The obvious Duckfeed answer is "yeah." Hear us explain why! And answer your questions, read your responses to June's games, and generally goof it up.

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We've got a topic and Q&A overflow, and the only way to contain all of these questions is to round 'em up. This is the first of our regular WOFF! Dispatch Roundup episodes, which we will be doing once per quarter to make sure we get to all of your questions.

We knew right after its release that Vampyr would be a WOFF! game. An RPG that cites Bloodlines as an inspiration, made by a smaller studio, with a great premise and very high highs that are unfortunately compromised by some very low lows. This bore out on our playthrough for the show. Jonathan Reid, the only vampire doctor in fiction, sets out to try and stop a horrifying epidemic in 1918 London, and learns that the disease is intricately related to the vampiric underground in the city. We don't end up loving the game, but we admire it.

Thanks so much to Jack for executive producing this episode!

If you have even a mild interest in old games, your critical acumen will always be caught up in the tension between historical import and modern playability. Few games stress that dissonance more than Another World, which combines an unbeatable atmosphere and tremendous influence with some very outmoded game design. Is it worth taking the plunge? Listen in, buddy!

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The world is waiting to be reborn, and it's waiting for you. Terranigma is probably Quintet's grandest statement on its pet themes... an action RPG that purports to be about the duality of creation and destruction. Over the course of a playthrough you raise the continents, restore the wildlife, bring humanity to its highest peak, and break the cycle of fate to stop its ultimate destruction.

Is the game perfect? Not hardly. But it's got a unique tone and it improves on its predecessors' combat enough to make it one of the best SNES games out there.

Big thanks to Hello for executive producing this episode, and happy birthday to Séan!

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Sometimes you just want to pick up an entire tanker truck and surf on it into a bunch of SWAT team guys, then rip a car in half and pound a tank with it, you know? This early high point in the sketchy history of Super Hero games isn't without its flaws (most of its flaws start with "M" and rhyme with missile) but it's got a lot to love about it too. Join us as we return to the era where holding R1 to run made sense.

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This week we talk about the many reasons to replay a game, including some psychological ones, and why you should give yourself permission to take a warm bath in the familiar. We also read your responses to May's games: The Beginner's Guide, Teardown, and Max Payne 3.

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Poor Max. Poor sad, hyper competent timelord Max.

Our man is in Brazil this time, playing the patsy and killing more people than most video game protagonists do in a lifetime. When Rockstar took over the franchise, fans feared that they would ruin this classic series. They were half right, turns out, as bolting a cover system onto the breach and clear pace of Max Payne has damaged the pacing. So did adding a truly criminal number of cutscenes. There are moments of thrilling action and fun, and a genuinely interesting tale to be found here, but as fans of the first game, we're disappointed. Listen in to hear why! 

Teardown is an extremely good game. Don't expect a meaningful story or even a huge amount of variety, but DO expect a lot of freedom and a lot of destruction. You're a criminal who takes on jobs to steal, destroy, and commit fraud across several sandbox-style maps made of physics-modeled voxels. The majority of missions are tense heists where you spend the first part meticulously planning your routes, and the second part just barely managing to escape in time. Like the best games, it's about the simultaneous importance and folly of planning, and you've gotta do yourself a favor and play it.

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We've got a topic and Q&A overflow, and the only way to contain all of these questions is to round 'em up. This is the first of our regular WOFF! Dispatch Roundup episodes, which we will be doing once per quarter to make sure we get to all of your questions.

• The future for From after Elden Ring.

• Favorite X-COM clones.

• Thoughts on loading times and loading screens.

• What's our deal with fighting games?

• Games that feel like fanfiction.

• How to take notes on games.

• Heterodox game opinions.

• Best uses of diegetic music and sound in games.

• What makes an RPG an RPG?

• How WOFF could cover MMOs.

To make up for the dead week after getting rid of the early release feed, we're hitting you with all kinds of never-before-heard WOFF Dispatch Roundup episodes! Please enjoy this bumper crop of rediscovered Q&A episodes.

• Real life knowledge we've used in games.

• How important is backward compatibility?

• What studio do you hope gets ahold of an established series?

• Our game of 2020, and our favorite mythological creatures.

• Can you go back from a great mod?

• The importance of good characters to games.

• Our changing relationships with mastery in games.

• Spiritual successors.

• The different kinds of mods there are.

• How can a game feel "next-gen" today?

• Using walkthroughs to alleviate anxiety and stress while playing games.

• How to meet a game on its own terms.

In 2022, you can play a video game about almost anything. So why is it most games are about how friends are good and honor is nice? Can robots feel? Been there, done that.

The Beginner's Guide is a follow up to the wildly successful (and hilarious) The Stanley Parable dares to ask deeper and more personal questions about art and criticism. It's thematically rich and textually complex. Viva!

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To make up for the dead week after getting rid of the early release feed, we're hitting you with all kinds of never-before-heard WOFF Dispatch Roundup episodes! Please enjoy this bumper crop of rediscovered Q&A episodes.

• Games that would make a good TV series.

• Gaming with distraction.

• Games we regret, and favorite mods.

• Do we admire games with technical accomplishments but rotten gameplay?

• Humor in games.

• Mental health in and around video games.

• Gaming expectations.

• Trophies and achievements.

• What makes a game an 0451?

• Easter eggs and cheat codes.

• You got games in my games.

• The importance of music in games.

• Unlocking mechanics in games.

• Character progression.

• The sports to RPGs pipeline.

• Morality systems in games.

• Can nudity or titillation work in games?

To make up for the dead week after getting rid of the early release feed, we're hitting you with all kinds of never-before-heard WOFF Dispatch Roundup episodes! Please enjoy this bumper crop of rediscovered Q&A episodes.

Note: An original version of this episode went out that used the wrong name for Sophie Pillbeam, an error born of the disparity in time between when we recorded and when the episode was released. We've fixed the error out of respect, and apologize for our oversight.

• Games in the altered state of mind.

• What game genres have you fallen out of love with?

• The durability of the "games aren't art" sentiment.

• Interesting games that are interesting failures.

• Games we like that we know aren't good.

• Games and the daily routine.

• Hidden content, easter eggs, alternate endings and paths.

• Talking about games in context.

In lieu of a topic, we read as many of your Chuck E. Cheese memories as we can. We also do the Q&A, and read your responses to April's games.

As a reminder, the Early Release feed will be going away at the beginning of May. Keep your eye on the Patreon page for information about where to get your audio when that happens.

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Kill everyone on Reddit Island Fyrefest! Using superpowers and time travel. What a pitch!

It's no secret we're big fans of Arkane, which makes Deathloop exceedingly interesting in both it's triumphs and failures. The apotheosis of density in level design saddled with awkward invasion mechanics from Dark Souls. A timeloop element that works wonderfully in terms of narrative but hampers the pace of play. Deathloop is a game with incredibly high highs but also low lows. Take and listen and see.

Gather 'round the stage birthday boys and girls! It's time for a special episode about what for some will be a fond childhood memory, and for others will be a resounding horror: Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza. A product of the arcade boom in the late 70s, these combination pizza parlor / arcade / entertainment centers were a place where childhood could be embraced. We look at the history of the dueling companies, clown on the characters, and share our own memories of the place.

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Thank you Randall! Check out Crashcoral.com! (pw: crashcoral).

Oh, a cult simulator/management game with heavy lovecraftian elements, striking minimalist art, and a roguelike structure. Did someone leave this under a box with a stick tied to a string, trying to trap both Gary and Kole?

Not so fast. The Shrouded Isle has some potential and some genuinely good aesthetics, but the game is so barebones and numbers based as to pose an existential question: how much flavor, depth, and context do games actually need to be successful?

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This week we talk about a new spectrum on which we can analyze games: is it prescriptive, or is it permissive? Does it force you to conform to its demands, or does it say "yes" to the way you try to meet its challenges? This has been bubbling up for a while, and it was satisfying to talk about it.

We also answer your questions and read your responses to March's games.

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TEENS! TEENS! TEENS!

No, it's not some sort of horrible chant, it's what we're killin. Hop in.

Until Dawn showed how you can take steady principles of narrative adventure games such as The Walking Dead, or, shudder, Indigo Prophecy, and evolve them into something new and fun on its own. Very fun performances, a twisty plot, and appropriate interactivity make this one of, if not the, best "interactive movie" in games. Give it a listen!

Thank you to Dr. When!

Quest Questingson conquers all of the continents of Continentia in this foundational strategy game. The king's sceptre has gone missing, and as a result both he and the kingdom itself are falling into ruin. It's up to you to track down all of the villains who conspired to steal the sceptre, recover the artifact itself, and save the day. This is a very basic strategy game, which is reflective of the time that it came out, but there are charms to its gameplay loop, and you can't help but smile at all of the Monster Dance Parties you destroy.

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Nintendo is a company that is sometimes too in love with it's own history. But sometimes, that love bears beautiful results. This creative lil nugget functions as a reader's digest version of some of the best games on the NES, as well as a fun meta toy, where elements are mixed and matched. Underrated gem!

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You wake up in a cabin and you're playing a dangerous game. Sacrifices must be made. And the only way forward is to play your cards right. That's about all we can say about Inscryption, an ambitious and wide-ranging card game by Daniel Mullins, the creator of Pony Island. If we gave too much detail right now we would spoil it, which we don't want to do, since it's a great introduction to deck building games, even if there are some... inconsistencies.

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We answer your questions, discuss GOTY discourse, read your responses to February's games and announce April's docket.

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The world's gone to shit, and the only way to stay alive is to work together. You start State of Decay playing a man named Marcus, but very quickly you gain access to a whole settlement full of simulated survivors, and are given the goal of building and stocking a home by breaking, entering, and scavenging... all while fighting off hordes of the undead. The management sim elements are a little too light, and the story is rushed and unfinished, but this is still the consummate B-game and we recommend you give it a shot.

Thanks Abe!

Is it metal? It's metal. It's undeniably badass in a way that is extremely appealing to our skeleton loving souls. The game itself is a pretty frustrating and dated RTS but our eyes are open to the coolness of the Warhammer world.

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This game reminds me of a puzzle. About 120 of them, to be exact. You could be forgiven for thinking that Professor Layton existed before his debut game on the Nintendo DS. The whole series has such a strong aesthetic and vibe that it feels like a European cartoon that you just never heard about.

But no, this was created whole cloth as a way to adapt a series of Japanese brain teaser books into video game form. While the story beats are ludicrous, and not all of the puzzles work, it's hard to be entirely mad at this quaint and amusing DS game.

Thanks to William for executive producing this episode!

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Are games too long? 500 hours? What does that mean, Dying Light 2?

Also, we answer your questions and read your responses to January's games before announcing February's CROP.

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Charles Reed enters a waking nightmare to try and end his sleeping nightmares. That's the opening of The Sinking City, an open world detective game by Frogwares, the Sherlock Holmes people. However, this has a distinctly horrific flavor, pulling in gods and elements of the Cthulhu Mythos. But while the story and mystery are good, does the repetitive and simplistic play support it?

A huge thanks to Johnathan for sponsoring this episode!

Thank you Ryan!
Appealing to young horny gamers everywhere by putting a demon in your head that offers to suck you off if you do her evil bidding: Not that far off from the actual plot of DMoMM. Isn't that wild? This jank fest from one of our all time favorite developers is certainly a weird one, but there's charm in them thar hills. And good kicks.

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