00:00:00

The Giant Beastcast: Episode 170

Unavowed is still interesting! Dead Cells is still interesting! Siege is still interesting? Sure! We've got games, we've got not games, we've got game news, and we've got a jacket.

The Giant Bomb East team gathers to talk about the week in video games, their lives, and basically anything that interests them. All from New York City!

Aug. 24 2018

Posted by: Vinny

RSS iTunes

108 Comments

Avatar image for loktarogar
LoktarOgar

698

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Guacamelee 2 is better than Dead Cells.

Avatar image for scolbert
scolbert

14

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

dan looks like hes in his late 40s in that jacket

Avatar image for hasemo
Hasemo

23

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

For a second I couldn't tell if it's Dan or Jeff on that thumbnail.

Avatar image for billymaysrip
billymaysrip

784

Forum Posts

5153

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

God, Dan looks so much like his dad in that picture.

Avatar image for spikespiegel00
SpikeSpiegel00

136

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By SpikeSpiegel00

I kinda want that jacket.

Avatar image for mus
mus

420

Forum Posts

67

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Edited By mus

Beastie time.

Avatar image for maxxcanti
MaxxCanti

273

Forum Posts

23286

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I think the jacket looks better on Jeff B.

Avatar image for knuckleberry
knuckleberry

97

Forum Posts

50

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Pretty sure Birdo's face is a cloaca, they poop from there.

Avatar image for csl316
csl316

17001

Forum Posts

765

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 10

Avatar image for superslidetail
superslidetail

759

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 7

More NHTSA!

Avatar image for bsmittel
Bsmittel

150

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Not sure about Vinny's rant on Xbox sales number in Japan, where has he been the last 5 years?

Avatar image for deactivated-60481185a779c
deactivated-60481185a779c

1296

Forum Posts

21

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Why does Dan look older than his father

Avatar image for napstar
Napstar

209

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@dgtlty: Dan's dad is simply an incredibly handsome man who is ageing very well.

Avatar image for matiaz_tapia
matiaz_tapia

718

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By matiaz_tapia

That jacket is syphoning Dan's life out his body. It is most definitely cursed. ( Probably haunted by the soul of the slayed muppet it was made from.)

Avatar image for ht101
ht101

2157

Forum Posts

378

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 11

Abby's rant on hoodies was great. I disagree but I enjoyed it.

Avatar image for jutturna
Jutturna

231

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Jeff Bakalar and the Deep Winters

Avatar image for toug
Toug

668

Forum Posts

452

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 7

The whole time they're roasting the jacket:

No Caption Provided

Avatar image for jetlag
Jetlag

617

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Avatar image for bobatrainwreck
BobaTrainwreck

807

Forum Posts

4

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@billymaysrip: I was just about to leave that same exact comment!

Avatar image for qstealth
QStealth

28

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Hoodies are my year round life force (even in the summer) so I guess now i'm anti-Abby

Avatar image for tylambert86
tylambert86

90

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Avatar image for mattoncybertron
mattoncybertron

433

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Paul on Beastcast?

I reckon Amazon was happy to cancel their prime game savings after the news about Best Buy AND Gamestop killing their paid tier savings gimmicks got out, a huge bummer all around to lose all this stuff

Avatar image for slymi
slymi

10

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Man... I want to know what James said.

Avatar image for camwil
camwil

121

Forum Posts

3

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Yeah speaking of in the way and annoying...

@ht101 said:

Abby's rant on hoodies was great. I disagree but I enjoyed it.

Avatar image for zinkn
zinkn

548

Forum Posts

127

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Hoodies are not stylish.

Avatar image for wijay35
wijay35

14

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By wijay35

Shit i wanna know how i can get a copy of the signed photo from dan. Also id game with abby but im worse then her since ive never done online (Multiplayer gaming) just offline.

Avatar image for ghost_cat
ghost_cat

2840

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By ghost_cat

Broccoli and mustard is truly the sad, lonely man's healthy snack. (but really sad)

Also, on the subject of stoner movies that hold up: Pineapple Express is still flippin' good.

Avatar image for jaypethian
jaypethian

64

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

"I don't even like cheese." - Alex

No Caption Provided

Avatar image for pyide
pyide

215

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Dan's dislike of Hollow Knight partly stemming from how he doesn't like "fumbling around in the dark" when reaching a new area is bizarre to me. I've seen plenty of other people out there share their dislikes for the mapping system initially but still managed to get past it and enjoy the game. As someone who loves to explore the unknown, I absolutely fucking loved those brief moments of trepidation and uncertainty as I poked about each new area until finding the map maker. It was genuinely thrilling, but sadly it never lasted all that long.

There aren't many games out there which can provide that sort of experience, especially games of this type where you're almost never truly "lost" or unsure of where to go next because it's auto-mapping everything from the start. Exploring the world is one of the main reasons I enjoy this genre (people call them Metroidvanias but the more generic term without the associated brand names is sometimes exploration or exploratory platformers). And this game doesn't go exactly all the way with emphasizing blind exploration, it's a nice mix of both.

Most areas aren't exactly maze-like and wind up being relatively easy to find your way around even without a map, as long as you're paying some attention to the world and not just the action. While the individual zones have their own unique visual styles that can appear repetitive throughout which may make navigating them confusing until having the map, the discrete rooms have distinct designs and layouts to them which counters that. And once you've explored these areas enough you'll have that map to fall back on along with some built-up awareness and ability to navigate them without a map or mini-map. It all felt very natural and rewarding to me. There's only one area where they hold the map back until much later in the game, the Fog Canyon. However, it's not a complex section at all in the early stages and mainly serves as a connector to some other areas until it opens up after some later game ability upgrades. Although not knowing that might be frustrating to some who can't get by at all without a map. It was a small trick I appreciated because it's what really clued me into actually trying to remember the layouts of each area instead of just plowing through them mindlessly like I would in other games which had auto-maps.

The worst it can possibly get is if you die deep down in an unmapped section before finding Cornifer's map there, but in those rare situations you can summon your shade back to the town area by giving an NPC a rancid egg if you don't think you can make it back down there alive to recover your dropped currency. And if you weren't carrying a lot of geo at the time, then it really doesn't matter if you lose it. Even if you were it doesn't really matter that much, since you can always get more.


Rambling again, but as a long-time fan of the genre, it's up there with the all time greats (SotN, Super Metroid) for me. I'm always taken aback when I hear fans of those games can't get into this one for whatever reason. For some it's not the mapping system but the movement and combat that turns them off before they find some upgrades which help, or even learn they have an incredibly fun and satisfying pogo bouncing down slash attack to start. For others it's the art style and animation (gorgeous to me), I've also heard some people just think the visuals and color palette are too bleak and depressing. Which it definitely is to start and and remains throughout as it's set in broken down kingdom, but there is also more life and color to the game as it goes on with both the NPCs and world design.

Avatar image for ultimaxe
UltimAXE

887

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Abby is crazy. Hoodies are rad. They make you feel mysterious and make other people think that you're up to no good. Frankly, it bums me out that I live in fucking Arizona and have very few opportunities to wear them without bursting into flames.

Avatar image for neokef
neokef

117

Forum Posts

246

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 2

This is the first time I listen to an ad on the Beastcast and was shocked to hear about the don't drive high thing. Like, its actually kinda cool and forward thinking but still shocking to hear addressed.

Avatar image for teigen
Teigen

22

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@neokef: the NHTSA definitely knows the demographics of Beastcast listeners to call out weed specifically

Avatar image for avioto
Avioto

513

Forum Posts

39

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

The only time I've seen Travolta act well is in American Crime Story.

Avatar image for baltica2ga
baltica2ga

81

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Yo, I totally support Abby's opinion on sweatshirts over hoodies. I only really wear sweatshirts and love them.

Avatar image for threeoct
threeOCT

556

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Dan's head looks 2 times too small in that jacket.

Avatar image for nodima
Nodima

3878

Forum Posts

24

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 13

User Lists: 0

Hoodies are rad. John Travolta was very surprising and maybe the true star of American Crime Story. He's had a cool, weird career.

Avatar image for pretty_sharp
Pretty_Sharp

46

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Holy Dan looks ancient in this photo haha

Avatar image for roacheu
Roacheu

10

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

The ressemblance with Paul Ryckert in this thumbnail is uncanny

Avatar image for dennistm
dennistm

55

Forum Posts

3

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Dan looks like his Dad in that photo

Avatar image for ravelle
Ravelle

3538

Forum Posts

1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Dan looks very much like Paul Ryckert in this picture in that light.

Avatar image for ravelle
Ravelle

3538

Forum Posts

1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

"I don't even like cheese." - Alex

No Caption Provided

God damn I miss Misfits. Loved that show.

Avatar image for shiztoid
shiztoid

60

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I watched that Anne Munition video that Abby was talking about and I don't blame her for not wanting to use voice chat. Having to put up with that bullshit from men isn't worth it

Avatar image for raynorshine
RaynorShine

129

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By RaynorShine

Crank Yankers writers:

Adam Corolla

Dave Chappelle

Jimmy Kimmel

Sarah Silverman

Tracy Morgan

Wanda Sykes

Dennis Leary

Kevin Nealon

Never Forget

Avatar image for rjaylee
rjaylee

3804

Forum Posts

529

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 2

That's a bad jacket.

Avatar image for redic
Redic

157

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

My "Media switch" Was thinking Golden Girls was a porno in the TV guide...

Avatar image for fattony12000
fattony12000

8491

Forum Posts

22398

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

Old and Punished Dan.

Avatar image for clush
clush

760

Forum Posts

43

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 3

What the fuck, you're advertising knock-off prescription drugs without seeing a doctor?

That's pretty disturbing, and to be honest pretty disappointing. I understand you gotta get paid, but after making the website pretty much unviewable without an adblocker this is a new low.

I'm actually rather upset. You're better than this.

Avatar image for fatalbanana
fatalbanana

1115

Forum Posts

5

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

@clush: They aren't prescription drugs they are over the counter things like hair growth formulas, cold sore medicine, erection pills, acne medication... basically anything found in the pharmacy section at a department store. It's not that serious.