The Giant Beastcast: Episode 111

This is starting to sound like the podcast show Vinny has always wanted to make. Kinda like GB meets CBB.

Dan Ryckert is bad at voicing opinions on things?

I've never heard this, not ever.

Dear god please have Margaret and Jeremiah back on.

Does Jeremiah look like a skeleton with a mohawk and a price is right nametag that says Geoff?

JEREMIAH

IS

GOLD

@tothenines: I literally had a co-worker stop and ask me why I was laughing out loud. Jeez that bit was awesome.

When Dan (or Jeff, or anyone else) says something is "bad," I don't think most people are confused about whether or not it's an opinion. It's pretty clear that it's just an opinion, because even if the person saying it thinks it's objectively true, that too is an opinion.

I think the problem with saying "X is bad" as opposed to "I don't like X" or prefacing with "IMO" or something along those lines is that you are conveying, intentionally or not, disdain for people that disagree with you. The implication of "X is bad," especially said with the tone of "this should be obvious to everyone" that it usually carries, is that people that believe "X is good" are dumb for believing that. It feels as if you are looking down on them. And especially when you are talking about things that people love, and have integrated as a part of their self-image ("I am a person who loves X"), it's going to feel to them like a personal attack. You might think that's stupid, but I assure you that many people feel that strongly about things that you think are dumb.

At the end of the day, yes: it's semantic nit-picking, and you get to express yourself however you choose. But I very much doubt that people are going to stop reacting negatively to that sort of wording, and if you have an interest in seeming more like a measured critic, and less like a button-pushing misanthrope, it might behoove you to consider the way you deliver your opinions.

I can't believe they just announced a new hire so casually.

Oh wow silly me. For a second a thought Jeremiah was Niel deGrasse Tyson! I always get those two mixed up.

Thumbnail didn't make sense until the end, then it made all the sense.

I was gonna get kinda mad about Dan's movie-concessions-theft bullshit, but then I kept listening and he's still talking about it would be okay to get shot. So I'm prepared to write him off as still the dipshit we all already knew he was.

I loved Horizon but their thoughts on it are my exact thoughts on BoTW.

We get it, Dan.

Please have Margaret and Jeremiah back more often. They were an absolute delight!

I listened to the first half of this at work and I had to take a knee almost every time Margaret spoke to keep from laughing. I'm a pretty salty guy at work so I have be careful to not let my coworkers know that I have a sense of humor. It's a good thing I heard the Jeremiah thing at home because I completely lost it. I'd welcome a return of either one of those characters but I'm also open to rotating guests. Bakalar's guffaws continue to be the best thing.

The lackluster things I've read and heard about the story beats of Breath of the Wild is one of the reasons I've fallen off of this series. It's cool that they've innovated the game play to another level of polish but it's baffling how often the whimsical high fantasy art design of these games feel completely wasted on such dull narratives. Thanks as always for the best podcast. Farewell to kisses on the cheek.

EDIT: I'll also say that AC: Black Flag is the best pirate video game ever made, nothing else comes close for me. Say what you want about the plot and historical tourism I respect that game for nailing the privateer vibe and getting to One Piece in a fraction of the time compared to that comic. AC: 2 and Brotherhood are cool too.

dan's hate of assassins creed makes me want to grind my teeth.

Dan truly is a garbage person.

@alistercat:I'm with you.

@adamlcook: it is the MOST DAN thing. he's been doing it for years. i think he enjoys watching people squirm.

I think I've seen Margaret around my local Sydney hangouts.

Haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, but can anyone let me know when they start/stop talking about the ending of Zelda?

I don't get why Cuphead's exclusivity sucks? I agree the more places to play something the better, but was this said about Nier, Persona 5, any other games that are only on PlayStation or Switch?

Whats the point of the dare if you dont actually get shot ?

I don't get why Cuphead's exclusivity sucks? I agree the more places to play something the better, but was this said about Nier, Persona 5, any other games that are only on PlayStation or Switch?

I literally signed in to post this exact thing.

BTW you can totally buy games from the nintendo eshop online and download it on my switch. i've done it a few times.

the best one yet, cant wait for the my first E3 with Jeremiah and Margaret

Jeremiah had me in tears, that was amazing.

I liked psnow when I was using it. Got the platinum for Ni No Kuni and played all the Ratchet and Clank games that I missed on the PS3.

I agree with this. It's not really an issue of whether it is objective statement or opinion, we all know intellectually that it is opinion no matter how declarative the opinion is.

The issue is that insinuation of that opinion conveys a sense of superiority or snobbery over those that liked the series; especially when the opinion is delivered in such a blunt and declarative manner. Dan may not have intended this, but it's still being conveyed by his choice of words and tone. While it could be argued that is something we need to get over, it is however a thought process that shouldn't be ignored or dismissed out of hand.

As someone who's going through some tough times I would like to say thanks to Jeremiah and Margaret form making me laugh out loud :)

Jeremiah was real laugh out loud comedy gold :D

Without Alex there Dan is truly intolerable.

Surely this is the first time Dan has contradicted himself.

"XBOX is bad because it has no exclusives"

"Cuphead is an exclusive"

"Well that sucks"

@scorch: I mean that kind of is the downward spiral that the "2nd place" console falls into. There's going to be more people complaining about XBox One exclusives than PS4 exclusives because there's way more people with a PS4, at least for now. And the "no exclusives / no games" narrative always gets popular for the 2nd place console, possibly convincing people to buy the "1st place" console. The same thing happened to the PS3 for most of its lifetime.

Yeah I don't have either console, I just find it funny. Also, if it's going to end up on GOG, that's pretty alright.

Wowie, what bad Halo opinions. Just because you didn't pay attention to the story or don't remember it well doesn't mean it's bad. The first Halo was pretty simple, but the rest of the Bungie games have pretty good stories. Especially compared to a lot of other games like Asscreed.

Dan is right, by the way, Assassin's Creed is absolutely terrible.

Am I alone in detecting some chemistry between Margaret and Jeremiah? Can't wait to hear what the future holds.

I just expect more out of this site, especially with Sony being so ridiculous lately reverting back to their arrogant anti-consumer ps3 stances often.

The Halo books ranged from fantastic to mediocre, really enjoyed most of them. None of them were "bad", the Halo 5 story felt disjointed from the superior pre-marketing campaign though.

@sharkosaur: But he's married and has a salary...scandalous!!

What an episode! The Jeremiah part almost had me in tears. So funny! Thanks beasties!

I also lost it by the end when the special guest arrived.

Also, what an excellent way to deal with the kiss on the cheek problem, bravo!

Great episode all around!

I was almost on board with Dan's dumpster diving for popcorn bags. That's like the kind of thing you always think of when you hear about places that do free refills like, "oh I wonder if you could do this and get away with it!" So in a moment of curiosity/desperation, I can see it.

But, fifty to one hundred times??? I mean, if they cost $10+ each, we could be looking at actual Grand Theft Popcorn here in total. Someone get NYPD on the horn!

I 100% agree with Vinny on steering the podcast away from shitting on one game especially the way Dan goes about it. He has a tendency to become annoying internet Dan when it comes to not liking a game in the way most of the internet does in that automatically something is shit if its not great. I have never played an Assasins Creed game ever and have never had any inkling to want to play one ever. Also can we all agree that trying to get somebody to recall tons of information from a game many years ago in order to prove your point is the worst.

Just listened to it, Dan won me back.

Fantastic episode. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Hi Margaret! I'm your biggest fan! Make sure you keep rockin it down there on the outback.

Or as she'd call it, the Steve Irwinback