Did you know it was possible to be entertained without pushing buttons? Chance spent most of his weekend exploring this strange, voyeuristic world with Prey, Sandman and Final Boss before returning to the fold of controllers with Red Dead Redemption 2 and Overwatch. Alex spent money on Destiny 2 and that means he is damn well going to play it and Chamberlain spent all of his free time watching people be much better at fighting games that he ever was on a larger stage than he will ever inhabit. Yes, he is jealous. 

Apologies in advance for this meandering episode, there is just not that much to talk about in the game world right now. Chance is still replaying Red Dead Redemption 2 and thinks that maybe, just maybe, he was a little too mean to it the first time around. Chamberlain got into a drunken fight with Live a Live, kicked it to the curb, and instead is playing a 21 year old game. And Alex spent money on Destiny 2, something that he is not ashamed for now but certainly will be in the very near future. Also, apologies to jtisallbusiness for getting his name wrong, but not for poking fun at him for spending $100,000 on Diablo Immortal. 

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex talk about cats! Not Stray, we covered that last week, this is the story of a stray cat and his misadventures. Far less importantly, games were played. Alex is doing God's work with his PS5 by finally playing through Spider-Man Miles Morales. Chance started a new character in Elden Ring, swearing it would be different this time, but she just ended up as a dual wielding death dealer again so he rode of into clearer pastures by starting Red Dead Redemption 2 again. And Chamberlain played four different games that no one else is playing, and he only has mean things to say about two or three of them.

This week we learn that pressing circle to meow, when coupled with an interesting if well worn post-humanity story, is more than enough to keep Chamberlain invested in a game. The cat shenanigans of Stray are not enough for Chance. He requires more to be amused, like sticking people with pulse bombs in a new game, or sticking people with pulse bombs in an old game. And Alex doesn't have the time to get to a casino so he is putting hours into Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a digital slot machine with impossible odds but some clever writing. 

No one is immune to the relapse. Alex is back and has returned to Elden Ring, playing a build that he had previously called boring. Chance took a few moments away from the Overwatch 2 beta and put some time into God of War to make sure that he was still in the mood for Ragnarök, and he most certainly is. And Chamberlain spent money that was originally intended for video game accessories on luxury cardboard rectangles. Come back next week to see if it many any difference.

We have all been waiting for news on God of War Ragnarök, and we got it, sort of: a release date and 30 seconds of trailer. Chance was so upset by this that he had a bad day in the Overwatch 2 beta before realizing that changing the frame rate settings made things unplayable for him. Chamberlain was so upset by this that we walked away from a mediocre survival horror game with an archaic save mechanic and is playing Crash Bandicoot 4 on purpose. And Alex was so upset by this that he didn't even show up today.

It's Cuphead day, a day celebrated only by Chamberlain! Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course has arrived and has wasted no time reminding Chamberlain that he is not actually good at videogames, he just plays a lot of them. Alex is still lost in No Man's Sky, as it offers a cosmic respite from the dumpster fire of current events. And Chance is wreaking havoc in the Overwatch 2 beta, just not with Tracer, as she has been nerfed to an almost unfair degree. Also, don't send inappropriate anatomy picks to anyone. No one wants to see that. Seriously.  

Chamberlain and Chance have both played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's revenge! One of them appreciated the shallow, kiddy pool approach and reveled in the nostalgia of arcade days long past. The other was disgusted by its lack of depth and character progression, giving up before finishing. Basically Chamberlain enjoyed the game for what it was and Chance disliked the game for what it wasn't (and now you know how writes these). Alex has once again jumped back into No Man's Sky, this time enjoying space farming. Who can blame him. It's the dead season, got to find your fun where you can.

You aren't going to believe this (I almost didn't) but Chance did not play Elden Ring this past week. This does not mean that he is never going to play Elden Ring again, but he did flit about between a whole bunch of other titles, ending up on Grand Theft Auto V, of all things. Alex uses the almighty power of his PS5 to play Touchlight II again and Chamberlain finds himself in the uncomfortable position of defending Bethesda and the footage of Starflied they showed at Microsoft's presser. It does not go well for him.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex decide to collectively ignore terrible rumors about a very important game that is still VERY MUCH COMING OUT IN 2022 and instead go over the blasé mediocrity that was this year's Summer Game Fest - the not quite the Keighley's but still lots of world premiers, only mostly games that no one cares about. And Callisto Protocol, because holy cow, that looks really good. Other than that, Chance is still (still!) playing Elden Ring, Alex is playing Torchlight 2 to keep from going mad over how terrible Diablo Immortal is, and Chamberlain has found a metroidvania that might as well be a new Hollow Knight, just not as good looking. Or playing. It is not the Hollow Knight sequel needs, but it is the one he deserves. 

You can blame Time Warner for our missed week (ask Alex, he will be back next time). Lots to catch up on, especially the Sony State of Play. Callisto Protocol is coming out this year! Street Fighter 6 really exists and actually looks good! Stray is coming out in a few weeks! PSVR2 fails to impress! The first salvo of not-E3 season has been fired and it was a good one.

Oh, and Chance is still playing Elden Ring.

Apologies to all his fans, but Alex is not here this week. He is busy making, as the kids say, fat stacks. Instead you have two old men talking about games! How enthralling. Chance is still playing Elden Ring, making a reputation for himself as a savior and helper. And Chamberlain finished up Rogue Legacy 2, the new LEGO Star Wars and Trek to Yomi. Two of these were actually good, the third he makes silly excuses for.

What you have here is the rarest of Chamberlain Chance and Alex episodes. It is a episode to be treasured, put up on a shelf, and listened to only on the most special of occasions. To do so more often would not diminish its specialness, but it would make just about anything else you do in life much less enjoyable. Appreciate the majesty of Alex having the intro.

Fear not! After a week's forced hiatus Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have returned! Chance is no longer playing Elden Ring, he is living Elden Ring, having taken up residence in a specific area and assisting any and all who summon him. Bonus internet points to any listener who gets him in to a game. Alex has returned to Mass Effect Andromeda and is playing it the way it was meant to be played: at max setting on new hardware, skipping almost all of the dialogue. And Chamberlain is playing the least roguish rouge-like he could find, Rouge Legacy 2, and is honestly having a good time with it. Because it is not very difficult.

Chamberlain here. It is with all seriousness that I must place a trigger warning on the first twenty or so minutes of this week's episode. Not for us being crude, or using bad language or me having bad opinions, because those things all do happen and we are unironically proud of all of them. No, real life intrudes on my friend Chance, and Alex and I wish him the best, but it might be a bit rough to hear. 

Don't worry, they are still playing Elden Ring, still loving it, and I try to convince them that Ghostwire Tokyo is worth approximately 66% of its asking price, so there are still shenanigans to be had.

Chance would like to make it VERY CLEAR that he did not noy enjoy invading other players' games in Elden Ring. He killed them, honorably of course, just to see how it felt. It felt hollow, so he returned to the hero role. Alex has gotten past the boring part of Tiny Tina's Wonderland, the game, and found the best part, the endgame. And Chamberlain is still having a difficult time dealing with Tiny Tina's constant positivity and the yelling. So much yelling.

Chamberlain returns and work has been done, at least work in video games, which totally counts as work. Grid Legends, Kentucky Route Zero, the excellent Young Souls and the Tiny Tina vehicle that really is just Borderlands with the thinnest possible coat of fantasy spread on top. Sorry Alex, it's just Borderlands again. Chance is here, because he is the rock of this podcast, and he is still finding tiny things to love about Elden Ring. He has become a secretive hero in the game, appearing when he is summoned, taking care of business while dual wielding two handed swords, and then slipping off into the night. He is Batman. Or Darkman. Something like that.

The title is a true statement that cannot be refuted. This does not necessarily mean that everyone loves Tiny Tina, but they should. Also this week, Chamberlain is missing (he was in Nashville and avoided the Grand Old Opry for reasons), Chance and Alex play a little more Elden Ring and no one gets slapped. Sorry to dash your hopes on that one. 

Chamberlain returns! In his absence he finished Horizon Forbidden West, which he doesn't spoil anything about, and played Infernax, a nifty little indie that is the perfect after dinner mint to sixty plus hours of machine slaying. Chance and Alex? They are still playing Elden Ring, but they both made time in their schedule to watch Turning Red, so that is some new media to discuss. Chance played some Overwatch and Alex is thinking about playing the new Tiny Tina game, so progress, right?

Chance and Alex love Elden Ring so much that they decide to marry it. Invitations will be sent out. Gifts will be registered for. A hall will be rented. And once the guests arrive and the music begins to play Elden Ring will leave them at the alter, crushing their dreams, with nothing but a 'git gud' as it passes the church doors. They will of course pursue it, but only to get back the deposit on the DJ, which they will spend on gifts to woo Elden Ring to return. And it will.

It will.

ELDEN RING. Elden Ring. ElDeN RiNg. Elden Ring? Elden Ring, Elden Ring. Elden Ring; Elden Ring - Elden Ring. "Elden Ring," Elden Ring.

Horizon Forbidden West.

Elden Ring. The Ring of Elden. The Eldenest of Rings. 

You already know how this episode is going to go. Chamberlain is playing Horizon Forbidden West, is enjoying it, but has a few nit picky complaints. Surprise, he also managed to play 30 minutes of Elden Ring! No surprise, he hated it with ever fiber of his being. Chance and Alex stand in solidarity, naming Elden Ring as a potential game of the year, and have almost nothing bad to say about it. Guess what? It's still a good episode, you should listen.

Chance has declared in Elden Ring Eve, though he is having so much fun with Horizon Forbidden West that he almost feels bad about putting it down. For now. He will come back to it eventually, for sure. Chamberlain does not celebrate Elden Ring Eve for he is of a different faith, one that celebrates mediocrity and jank, meaning that he still hasn't finished Edge of Eternity. And Alex? He had to work. Truly, the darkest timeline.

There is comfort to be found in jank, especially eurojank, an ersatz genre that Chamberlain has an ill advised fondness for. So he is still playing Edge if Eternity. In spite of its terrible crafting, bad voice acting, simple combat and general JRPG bloat he is having a good time and refuses to hear reason. Chance gave up Chamberlain's taste in games years ago, content to enjoy better things, like Sifu and Dying Light 2. And Alex just didn't play much this week. Such is his excitement for Elden Ring. He has gone on a gaming fast to prepare himself.

For the first time in many, many months Chamberlain, Chance and Alex are all playing the same thing at the same time: Dying Light 2. Or at least they were. Chamberlain uninstalled the game in disgust at around the hour and a half mark because of, well, reasons that make sense to him and no one else. He then ran home to a eurojank JRPG. Alex has chewed through two thirds of Dying Light 2 and has mostly good things to say about it. And Chance has played less of it than he planned, but more of Sifu and Ghost of Tsushima than he expected, so it was a win win. 

At time of recording Dying Light 2 was mere hours from launch and our heroes deal with the stress in different ways. Alex, being of sound mind and body, bought his fiancé a Switch so she can play Animal Crossing and then passed the time by looking at free games on the Epic Game Store. Chance, being of sound mind but not as sound a body, continues to play Overwatch, in spite of the player pool getting weaker, and Ghost of Tsushima multiplayer, in spite of having solved the game to the point of running guided multiplayer tours for noobs. And Chamberlain, who is of neither sound mind nor sound body, played through the indie thriller Mundaun before doing the unthinkable: he gave Activision money by purchasing Diablo II Resurrected. Any abuse thrown his way is well deserved.

Chamberlin is here. He voice isn't but he is physically behind the mic. He suffered through the hushed whispers of Chorus to find the pretty good space shooter inside, then bounced off of Nobody Saved the World and settled on F.I.S.T.. Alex has proved himself superior to Inscryption, having finished in in a mode 8 times more difficult than the one that scared Chamberlain away. And Chance is trying to get everyone to watch Hit Monkey between games of Overwatch and Ghost of Tsushima. Anything to fill the hours before Dying Light 2 comes out.

Chamberlain here. I was asleep at time of recording. Not sure what the bug was/is but I am slightly better now and will certainly be better tomorrow. Thanks to Chance and Alex for making sure the show goes on. So Two Out of Three Ain't Bad. In the day since this was recorded Meat Loaf died. Bat Out of Hell was the first CD I ever owned, played loudly on the first boom box I ever owned. Godspeed, Mr. Loaf, may the wings of, well, angel and demons speed you on your way.

January is usually rough for new games but the first two weeks of 2022 have been barren. Chamberlain is using the time to catch up on last year's not quite AAA games, finishing up Lost in Random, Kena, The Takeover and starting Chorus, none of which are amazing but are all better than a swift king to the fellas. Alex has started Last Epoch, a game guaranteed to make him go back to Diablo III. Again. And Chance almost plays Witcher 3, starts and stops West of Dead, has a quick cup of coffee with Skull the Hero slayer before settling on more Dying Light and Overwatch. And trying to find a way to make time pass more quickly.

Welcome to 2022, in which all the deferred gaming dreams of 2021 will come true! This means that Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, Dying Light 2, STALKER 2, Breath of the Wild 2, God of War Ragnarök and Starfield will all come out AND will all be good, right? Chamberlain, Chance and Alex indulge this fantasy while catching up on last year's indies, replaying games from generations ago and falling for the latest internet fad game that could probably be run in a browser. Go, Loop Hero, go!

It wasn't easy, but Chamberlain, Chance and Alex are all in the same place at the same time and have managed to winnow down a year's worth of games to their top fives. The year was not as bad as any of them remembered but there is not the same level of agreement between them as past years. Is there fighting between them? Maaaaybe. You will have to listen to find out. At least one of Chance's top five games was chosen specifically to spite Chamberlain, you just need to figure out which.

The podcast continues to operate at one third power, this time with Alex missing, his presence required by the late stage capitalist machine (he had to work). In his week off Chamberlain finished Halo Infinite, which was okay, House of Ashes, which was not really a game, and started Guardians of the Galaxy, which really isn't much of a game, either, but is just fun to wallow around in. Chance watched the new Wes Anderson movie, allowing him to feel smug for at least a week, and is still playing Breath of the Wild. Nintendo occasionally makes good games with almost limitless replay. Who knew.

Welcome to our fresh new host! Sorry this took a bit, but we have been scrambling on setting things up with a new host and have not worked all the kinks out yet. Enjoy Chance and Alex minus Chamberlain and we will see you again soon!

Prepare for the most disjointed episode ever. Not only is Alex not present due to technical difficulties but Chance and Chamberlain are attempting to record while watching the first hour of the Game Awards. Watch along while they deal with a 3 second difference between their streams!  Chamberlain has finished up Far Cry 6 and moved on to the scifi version, Halo Infinite, to mostly good results. Chance tries a few new games before settling back into the low resolution wonder that is Breath of the Wild. And Alex is probably hitting up Amazon right about now.

It's December and there are no new games. There is only the anticipation for new games and the nostalgia for old games. Unless you are Chamberlain. He didn't get enough of the UbiGame with Assassin's Creed Valhalla so his is submitting himself to Far Cry 6, in spite of his own admission of not liking it very much. Chance is still playing Metal Gear Solid 5. The game is still good, Quiet is still bad, we have grown ever so slightly as a society. And Alex has gone all the way back to Darksiders II, pretending, like the rest of us, that it was the last game in the series.

Happy Thanksgiving (if you are in the US), and if you are Canadian, a general congratulations is in order. No Alex this week, he is busy doing important family (and future family) related things. Chamberlain is here, fighting the good fight in the hostile retail environs of the fourth quarter, so all he has to offer is some tiny progress in Far Cry 6 and the knowledge that Halo Infinite is going to be okay, at best. Chance continues to consume all forms of media at a super human rate. After turning his nose up to Death's Door he still had time to watch Snatchers, a B grade horror movie, and play more of Metal Gear Solid 5, an example of what not to do with female characters. Ever. For God's sake, Quiet can't even talk!

Chamberlain is back and all he wants to do is go fast in shiny cars. Forza Horizon 5 is there is fill that need and Far Cry 6 is not quite up to the task. Chance, in a fit of bored desperation, repurchased Metal Gear Solid 5 and has suffered no ill effects, though overdosing on Kojima word salad is a constant danger. And Alex gave the League of Legends RPG a try. Hopefully he can resist the source materials toxicity.

This is where Chamberlain writes a humorous blurb summarizing this week's episode. Alas, today, he cannot. Because he has not listened to it yet. He is certain it is excellent, so you should listen to it and then tell him all about it.

This week, Alex admits he has a problem. It's a true, deep seeded addiction that can only be sated with loot based dungeon crawlers of the highest quality. He bought the Diablo II remake and has not stopped regretting it. Chance has stayed busy with Darkest Dungeon II, getting so good at it that the developers had to make the game harder for everyone else. Thanks Chance. And Chamberlain finishes his tour of mediocre spooky walking simulators with Apsulov before stumbling on to Dusk, a retro shooter that runs well - on the Switch.

Chamberlain was late to recording and so, rudderless, Chance and Alex talked about Darkest Dungeon II. And then they talked about Darkest Dungeon II some more. And then they talked about how good Chance was at the game and how bad Chamberlain was at the first one. Chamberlain played a little bit of Inscryption and disagrees with Alex, and the rest of the world, on it being a good game. Remember, don't listen to Chamberlain. Ever.

Fresh off of a mediocre time with Metroid Dread, Chamberlain returned to Tales of Arise and finished it. He now has blue, two different color eyes, wields mismatched long swords and has a tortured back story in which he was influenced by the will of the planet, therefore nothing he does is his fault. It is the Aether's fault he didn't love Dread. Alex has found a new spooky card game called Inscryption that he wants everyone to buy but can't say that much about. And Chance admits that he is playing Far Cry 6 the same way Chamberlain would, and he feels not shame whatsoever. 

Last week Chance bemoaned Metroid Dread's full price when compared to its run length. This week Chamberlain puts that to the test (Chance was right). Alex spent his whole week playing Diablo 3 and listening to move podcasts. The killing of demons can be a mantra of sorts (Chance was right). And Chance, without warning, bought, and has had the temerity to enjoy, Far Cry 6, in spite of its total lack of Italian localization. We will see if he can go three for three.

Neither Alex nor Chamberlain have anything nice to say about Tales of Arise, but only one of them was smart enough to stop playing it. And you know who that was. Instead of wading through bad writing and boring characters Alex has been wading through defeated hell minions, hip deep at times, as he has thoroughly and completely broken Diablo III. He even took Chance along for the ride, but Chance decided that a walk through a beautiful but forbidding wasteland running errands for wordy survivors was more fun.

Prepare yourself for uncharted podcast territory. Chamberlain cannot make the normal recording time, but he has things to say, so he is recording a bit all by his lonesome. More importantly, Chance and Alex are here for you, together, ready to comfort your ears with tales of Diablo 3, Death Stranding and Midnight Mass. Also, someone out there on the internet hates Chance for his videogame prowess, something that simply cannot comprehend. 

Alex has returned, happy and well fed following his birthday celebrations. He has also begun his loops through Deathloop, finding it more palatable than Dishonored 2. Chance continues his strange trek through 'new game land' with a trek of perfect length through Kena Bridge of Spirits. And Chamberlain? He IS NOT still killing the English in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He is killing Picts, now, too.

No, you are not stuck in a time loop. This is a new episode and Chamberlain is still playing Assassins' Creed Valhalla. He is still killing the English in droves but now he is playing matchmaker and fending off the unwelcome advances of his brother's wife. Chance is also not stuck in a loop, he is just really enjoying Deathloop. It's not quite Dishonored but it is still a very good time. Good enough to be played again. And again. And Alex is not here because he simply had a better offer, one that no one in a sane mind would pass up.

Sony decided to show of a few games today, none of which were a Bloodborne remake. Chamberlain couldn't care less as he is still knee deep in Valhalla with no sign of the end. Alex is at most bemused. He got everything he wanted in life when Psychonauts 2 came out and was pretty good. Every day from here on out is gravy. Chance, though, is heartbroken, as he can no longer play anything that runs at less than 40K 60FPS. At least Deathloop comes out next week.

Last week Chamberlain promised Alex that he would play Psychonauts 2, since it was on GamePass. He didn't. At all. He lives in Valhalla now, killing the English at every opportunity. Alex finished Psychonauts 2 and then started it again, which is always a good sign. And Chance is a shark. A big nuclear shark that shoots laser beams at helicopters. This is not as cool as a being a samurai but that is was Chance was last week.

It was Christmas morning for Alex this week. Tim Schafer showed up at his house, ate all the cookies, drank all the beer, and left behind Psychonauts 2. On the other extreme, Chamberlain played a depressing metroidvania, a pretentious 2D physics-based platformer and them ran back to an ex for comfort, the ex being the only Assassin's Creed game he didn't finish, Valhalla.  Chance watched No One Lives, which is not a prequal to No One Lives Forever (who own that game's rights, anyway?) and then settled in to the Ghost of Tsushima expansion. In case you were worried, it is more Ghost of Tsushima.

This is where Chamberlain would normally put a humorous synopsis of this week's episode. Unfortunately he was not there to record, and he hasn't even listened to the episode yet, so for all he knows Chance and Alex complain about his arrogance and his hatred of Hades for a solid sixty minutes. Or they talk about movies and Overwatch. Either way, Chamberlain is terrified, but you shouldn't be.

Alex returns and in his return he has finished Returnal. Please note that this does not mean he understands everything that has happened. No one does. Chance watched a whole bunch of movies, including one about Nicholas Cage and his missing pig, which he swears is one of the best movies he has seen this year. Perhaps the pig flies. And Chamberlain found the undying crows of Death's Door too adorable to ignore, a purchase that he does not regret in the least but that comes with some hefty, isometric downsides. 

Alex is busy meeting a brand new, mint condition first edition person so you have to deal with the old men. Chamberlain marveled at the 4K bits of garbage in The Ascent but stopped short of calling it anything more than okay. He also almost found his house in Microsoft Flight Sim but it not quite sure it was with the 100 gig download. Chance happened about an incredibly 'Nicholas Cage' Nicholas Cage performance in Willy's Wonderland. He also decided that Ghost of Tsushima Legends is his tai chi, which I suppose makes him a multi-form master as flying across the point in a giant hamster ball is not exactly calming or soothing.

Only one thing can contain this podcast: no games coming out. Chance can always fall back on Overwatch, as the tears of wiped teams sustain him. Alex had the audacity to leave his house and do thing outside, where the sun can get to him. Someday he will come back to us. Chamberlain remained indoors and braved the blandest RPG of recent memory, CrisTales. It's just slightly better than playing nothing.

Alex is the happy owner of a new, non-scalped PS5. Yes, it took nine months, but it's not like a whole lot of games actually came out for it in the meantime. So far he has sampled Returnal and Demons' Souls, finding a bit of joy in both. Chamberlain comes to you with a metroidvania recommendation that comes with a few conditions, one of which being you don't mind dying in three hits. Play Ender Lilies. But he cannot recommend The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, as the stench of waggle is still attached to it. And Chance played some Overwatch, this time in the crossplay queue, and won a whole bunch anyway, because he is cool like that.

The PS5 suspense enters its final stage. Did Alex manage to secure one of these almost fictitious boxes? I am not telling, but he did almost get Chance to buy Wildermyth, a dreaded Steam game. Chance played some Overwatch, and then some Ghost of Tsushima multiplayer, and then watched a bunch of movies, quite possible all at the same time. And Chamberlain had no time to do anything that he said he was going to do, opting for a little game that served as a sort of follow up to another little game that no one really played.

Lost and alone without the shepherding hand of Chamberlain, Alex and Chance go rogue and talk about movies and TV for a half an hour!  How crappy IS The Tomorrow War?  How bingeable is Broad City?  Are we talking about The Bad Batch as in the dreamscape post-apocalyptic commentary on the American penal system, or are we talking about The Bad Batch Star Wars cartoon?  There's only one way to find out... 

Contrary to the intro, this is episode 273, not 263. Chamberlain apologizes (not really). He also did the right thing by giving up on D&D Dark Alliance and moving on to Scarlet Nexus, a game that actually wants to be played. Alex attempts to use the Crash Team Racing remake as a Mario Kart replacement. And Chance agrees to hand over more money to Sony for shinier samurai and a new island on which to kill people. His only demand is a plain straw hat.

Alex is using this lull in releases to replay one of the best games of last year, Ghost of Tsushima. He, and it, are very sweet. Chamberlain plays several half-baked demos before running into the less than half-baked D&D Dark Alliance. Chamberlain is sour. And in a stunning turn of events that simply could never have been predicted, Activision Blizzard has released a questionable patch for Overwatch that enables cross play and screws everything else up. Chance is salty.

It's E3 time! It's not as fun as it used to be, thanks to both the absence of Sony and the general malaise of an online only presentation, but it happened and we should talk about it. Spoiler: only Microsoft and Nintendo had anything to say. But at least there was something to play those lucky enough to own a PS5: Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart. Of course it is good, but Chamberlain and Chance need to fight about it anyway. Alex played a few bad roguelikes before coming back home to Hades, all the while telling himself that getting shut out of Sony's PS5 queue was not the end of the world.

This week, Chance beats the shit out of Chamberlain at VF5 AGAIN, Alex delves into Dungeons of the Darkest variety, and have you seen that Elden Ring trailer? (Note from Chamberlain: screw Elden Ring, there was a new Painkiller game teased that no one in the whole world cares about but me. If they make it exclusively co-op I will quit videogames)

That turkey is Chamberlain and his jive is indeed immaculate, though he did at least show up at the appointed time and play a serious number of embarrassing games of Virtua Fighter 5 with Chance. He also played Biomutant, which no one else should do. Alex has played enough of Mass Effect 3 to remember why he hated and loved it. And Chance watched a whole bunch of movies and posted a YouTube video that you should by no means watch.

People deal with the calm before the storm in many different ways. Chamberlain did something truly against type by watching Castlevania Season 4 after swearing off the series before making an honest, if a bit short, effort to replay a game. It's not his fault that blitzball is terrible. Chance watched several movies that no one else has heard of, then took a bullet for the team by trying out Biomutant. And Alex saved them all, on the second try, by completing the suicide mission at the end of Mass Effect 2. Team Tali for life.

Prepare yourself for Resident Evil 8 and Castlevania Season 4 spoilers! Also this week: Alex revisits old sci-fi friends who look better now than they ever did but play just about the same. Chamberlain literally falls asleep playing Ys Origins and Chance plays a game the he does not like to completion three times just because he has nothing else to do and wants to make very sure that he does not like it.

Returnal gets talked about again this week, and there might be a bit of drama around it, as Chance still loves it and Chamberlain still hates it, but there is a new release to talk about that Alex has played as well: Resident Evil Village. No spoilers this week but it will be open season next time. Also, a movie that Chamberlain doesn't understand, an actual metroidvania that Chance is unimpressed by and a new season of Castlevania that Alex has only watched a few episodes of.

Returnal has come out and, as expected, Chance and Chamberlain disagree vehemently on its quality. Chance is in love with a game that seamlessly blends genres into a science fiction horror metroidvania rogue lite that is exclusive to his console of choice. Chamberlain sees the vile scourge of the rogue like moving in on a previously pure game architype and is none to pleased, to put it lightly. The game's simple existence makes him angry. Firework ensue. Plus, Alex has returned to Cyberpunk, promising that the PC version finally works as advertised.

Desperation has set in. Chamberlain finished up a passable side scrolling action game, a cute, albeit forgettable game about clouds and then forced his way through Crash Bandicoot, a PS1 game that should have remained in the past. Alex was shamed unto a second attempt at Dishonored 2 by Chance. Chance is unable to find solace anywhere, bouncing off of good and bad game alike. At least next week there will be an argument about Returnal.

Alex has finally proved that he cooler than either Chamberlain and Chance by arriving late and leaving early. He has also managed to recap his losses after the foul internet eating his Risk of Rain 2 save. Chance continues his tour of the past, playing through Dishonored 2 in its entirety, managing to not kill anyone. Such restraint is to be applauded. And Chamberlain got to the very end of Outriders before lowering the difficulty to put the game out of its misery.

This week Chamberlain has shirked his sacred responsibility of watching one movie a week, opting for the intellectual slumming of a two night WrestleMania. This means he has to watch two whole movies before next week on top of trying to wrap up Outriders, which is actually getting better. Chance spreads his time out across many games, none of which are from this generation. And Alex has a once in a lifetime run in Risk of Rain 2 before his save is eaten by internet goblins.

Alex has the week off, involuntarily. No, we didn't kick him out, why would you even think that. This week Chamberlain is playing Outriders, a Destiny like game with Gears of War like combat that isn't as good as either of them. Chance plays a whole lot of games, spending the most time with Days Gone. Pretty soon he will be cruising the Canadian countryside on a motorcycle, sans helmet, wondering where all the zombies are. 

This week, Chance struggles to admit that Nintendo is occasionally right while at the same time starting his third play through of Breath of the Wild. He also gets in touch with his inner middle-aged woman. Alex finally beat Hades as the devs intended before revisiting Risk of Rain 2. And Chamberlain is gravely disappointed in Narita Boy but impressed with himself for getting through the second Doom Eternal expansion.  

New this week: Chamberlian catches up! After neglecting all forms of media other than videogames for years Chamberlain has decided that he just might be missing out on a few things. Chance is up first with his recommendation of The Witch and Chamberlian is, as to be expected, a grump about it. He also finished Doom Eternal The Old Gods part 1, which is he rather proud of, and played, then quit, Undertale because it boring. Chance finished Breath of the Wild on the third attempt before watching Zach Snyder's Justice League, so you don't have to, but he thinks you should! Alex treats himself to all of the Outer Worlds expansions, which finally bring it up to the length of a normal RPG, and spends more time with Griftlands.

It took 40 hours, but Chamberlain has finally decided that he doesn't like Bravely Default II and will not be playing any more of it. As penance for all that wasted time he is attempting the Doom Eternal expansion and has tasked Chance and Alex with choosing a movie a week for him to watch. Chance has chosen The Witch. Chamberlain is worried. Chance decided to save money and then ended up spending all the money on Grindstone, a Switch pro controller and Breath of the Wild (again). And Alex tried Hades from scratch, realized that it was hard again, and got succor from abusing Borderlands 3.

Bravely Default 2 is not technically old, but it certainly feels that way. Chamberlain would like to believe that it is intentional, not lazy, but he is still not sure if he is enjoying it or if he has put thirst hours into it just because he is in covid quarantine. Bloodborne is definitely old, but Chance is playing it anyway. It is so old, if fact, that he has forgotten just enough about it for it to be almost new again. Only Alex is actually playing something new. It's week two on Persona 5 Strikers and he has finally figured it out. Min maxing it is in the near future.

It's the beginning of March and there is nothing to play. Well, nothing new to play. Chance does not mind, he can still play Overwatch. Alex doesn't mind, as he has no problem revisiting old classics like Horizon Zero Dawn. Chamberlain, though, is beside himself. Maybe he should have held on to Super Mario 3D World just a little longer. Not surprisingly, lots of movie and TV talk this week.

This week: animal husbandry in space! A JRPG without skeevy costumes! Murder at sixty frames per second! Tree hugging murderous werewolves and the humans who love them! 

And some Overwatch.

Well, at least Chamberlain has. He says mean things about Axiom Verge, a metrodvania that no one care about anymore, then says a few nice things about Ys IX before putting on a questionable accent to relate a chemical triggered auditory hallucination. No really. Alex finds more to love in Borderland 3 with the latest expansion and Chance is back to loving Overwatch, long queue times and all.

This week: Chance watches an excellent horror series that he does not remember who recommended.  He also plays a whole lot of Overwatch but NOT a lot of Tracer. Alex plays Pillars of Eternity on the easiest setting because he cares about the story but no so much about the game. And The Medium crosses a line that Chamberlain cannot approve, but he finishes it anyway. 

Did you buy Gamestop stock? No? Neither did we. Chamberlain bought a raffle ticket in the form of a (spoiler) bad horror game called Visage, but Immortals Fenyx Rising and Cyber Shadow were more than good enough to make up for the loss. Chance took the short option on Tracer, and sure enough she is getting nerfed. He also would make an exceptional hired killer after playing a lot of Hitman. And Alex stuck to the blue-chip stocks, made a slight profit, and spent it on mods for Fallout New Vegas.

Remember what it was like to be happy? Content? Warm and fuzzy? Games can do that just as well as anything else. Chamberlain and officially spent more time on Immortals Fenyx Rising than he did on Assassin's Creed Valhalla because (gasp) it is more fun to play. Chance picked up Hitman 2 on sale, which lead him to him buying Hitman 3 and not being able to play, but that in no way diminished how powerful his fish was. And Alex has gone totally against type and is replaying Fallout New Vegas as an idiot, to great success. 

Prepare for the Statler and Waldorf of video game podcasts. Without Alex, Chamberlain and Chance just seem so much older. And crankier. Chance has passed 200 hours in Cyberpunk and is quite thankful for the game that so many others have said should not have been released in its present condition. Chamberlain is quite content with Immortals Fenyx Rising. It is Assassin's Creed, minus all the overwrought story nonsense, plus Breath of the Wild dungeons. It's January, folks.

Congratulations, you made it! It is now 2021 and your reward is one last best of 2020. While there may not be many surprises on this year's list, it is still a good one, and is officially the last time anyone will ask you to think about the year that shall not be named. Chance is still playing Cyberpunk 2077 after giving up on Yakuza Like a Dragon. Alex has stuck by his Yakuza purchase and Chamberlain insists that Immortals Fenyx Rising is a good game. No, really, it's good.

It's week 2 of Cyberpunk 2077 talk, this time with Chamberlain, who is less than enthused with the shooting and driving. Alex is proud to be playing the only version of the game that is anywhere close to feature complete. Chance is quite happy with the game on PS5 and is within spitting distance of wrapping up his first playthrough. That a lot of cyber punking in a short amount of time. Our condolences to PlayStation users who, as of recording, can no longer buy the game. Note from Chamberlain: lolSony.

Cyberpunk 2077 nearly broke Steam, doesn't really run on last gen consoles and might kill you if you suffer from epilepsy, but it is finally out and one can customize their genitalia. It just might be the most '2020' a game can be. Chance and Alex are here to tell you what you need to know, just not too much. The game came out less than a day ago, after all. 

It is getting more difficult to pass the time until Cyberpunk 2077. Chamberlain still wishes he was playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but not being able to save is kind of a deal breaker, so he dipped unto the back catalog for The Missing and then, because he was not stressed enough, started work on Ghostrunner. Alex was able to fix his broken Valhalla but was lured away by the beautiful reflections of the ray tracing enabled Control. And Chance is on either his second or third play through of the Demon's Souls remake. 

All the teraflops in the world can't fix Assassin's Creed bugs. Chamberlain would very much like to be playing Valhalla but the last patch broke fast travel and saving, so he is being visually overwhelmed (not in a good way) by Dirt 5 instead. Chance plays the only real next gen game, Demon's Souls, as it is a promise of what the new machines can really do. And Alex significantly ups his GPU horsepower becasuse a new video card was a thing that he could but with money and a PS5 still is not. 

The next generation has finally arrived in full. Chance has obtained his PS5, Chamberlain has both because he lacks common sense, and Alex continues to use his gaming PC, pledging his continued allegiance to the PC master race. No spoilers for Spider-Man Miles Morales this week, but all bets are off soon. Chance celebrates his new box by playing an old game at a better frame rate and resolution. Chamberlain tries and fails to find enough hours to play everything and Alex decides that sleep is now completely optional, playing two Assassin's Creed games at the same time. Everything is permitted, but come on man.

Welcome to the new generation! Sort of. Chamberlain has obtained an Xbox Series X and it feels more like buying a new video card than a new console. And neither Chance nor Chamberlain have a PS5. So Fuck Walmart. But there are games being played! Alex and Chance have played Assassin's Creed Valhalla and have managed to make Chamberlain vibrate with anticipation. He can't wait to stop playing Watch Dogs Legion. And so begins the next next gen - with a lot of yelling and just a tinge of disappointment. 

In case anyone has forgotten, Chance is Canadian. This means that he is extraordinarily polite, has a plus three bonus to cold resistance and has a vested interest in what goes on to the south of his very large, unguarded border. And just like Chance and Chamberlain are between console generations at the moment with no real guarantee on when the next will arrive, Chamberlain and Alex are between White House regimes. Neither of these positions are comfortable. Chance makes do with Ghost of Tsushima Legends. Alex finds solace in the Truffula trees of No Man's Sky and Chamberlian finds a new appreciation for British swearing in Watch Dogs: Legion.  

Weeks ago, both Chance and Alex dismissed the Ghost of Tsushima Legends expansion. Multiplayer samurai adventures? Who would want to play that? It turns out that Destiny 2 plus a sweet parry mechanic is Chance's kryptonite as that has, for the moment, pulled him away from Overwatch. Alex throws $15 down a hole and tries Fallout 76. He says it's fine but that may just be a coping mechanism. And Chamberlain makes the sad realization that he is too jaded to be frightened by a game even when that is exactly what he is looking for. No spoilers for Amnesia Rebirth this week but full plot spoiler in a week.

As the generation winds down our heroes need to dig deeper for entertainment. Chance returns to old (and new) friends in Overwatch and Ghost of Tsushima. Chamberlain spends a few fleeting moments with pixel art indies Huntdown and Ikenfell. And Alex dives deep into the lore or Warhammer with Warhammer 2 Total War. Plus just a little more Hades talk. No minds have been changed.

Pickings are a bit slim this week. Chamberlain didn't play Hades (on purpose). It's October now, so it is time for spooky games and the best he could come up with is Maid of Sker. Alex waited several years and several price drops to play Lord of the Rings: Shadow of War, a very smart decision. And Chance played just enough 13 Sentinels to be disappointed by it, just enough Spelunky 2 to be frustrated by it and just enough No Man's Sky to question his 'Alex was right' stance.

Chamberlain would like to apologize for his mood. He did not secure an Xbox Series X preorder and therefore everything is terrible. Even Hades. Chance insists that Hades is good but does not know quite what to make of 13 Sentinels, splitting time between that and a host of spooky movies. Alex also insists that Hades is good, inching in on game of the year territory before Cyberpunk even comes out.

The other shoe has dropped and two of our heroes have pre-ordered a PS5. The third, being Alex, has wisely decided to wait just a bit. Chamberlain has moved on from being disappointed in Marvel's Avengers to being disappointed in Minoria. Chance was also made sad by Minoria but has been having too much fun with Star Renegades to notice. And Alex beds down with another Borderlands 3 expansion because he is a good and loyal man. 

Also, yes, Chamberlain got the episode number wrong in the intro. Feel free to leave scathing comments.

This week Chance indulges in a few scary movies. Well, two horror movies and a third starring David Spade, but close enough. He also gets killed by smurfs in Overwatch, which is not nearly as funny as it sounds. Chamberlain plays the new Destiny 2 expansion called Marvel's Avengers after turning tale and running from the final boss of Luna Nights. And Alex enjoys the bounty of a Humble Bundle, playing Grim Dawn, Tales of Vesperia and Star Renegades. Finally, one of the new consoles has a price and date, making Chamberlain very happy. You can guess which one.

Much like we all have been forced to wait for a price and date announcement for the new consoles, you have been unfairly forced to wait for part two of the generation in review. Chamberlain's dead laptop apoloigizes. Also this week: Chance plays some Overwatch and gets hate mail, Alex watched some movies, and Chamberlain quit playing what he thought was a music game to play an actual music game, only this time with metal instead of EDM. He definitely traded up.

As we near the end of the generation (hopefully) Chamberlain, Chance and Alex reflect of the current one, picking out their ten favorite games each. Part one is this week! On top of that, Chamberlain is embarrassed to admit he is playing Fairy Tale, just not embarrassed enough to stop playing. Alex is giving The Outer Worlds a second and play through and Chance relaxes with two indies on his Switch.

It had to happen. Chamberlain has played what may be the worst game of 2020 and managed to still be amused by Fast & Furious Crossroads. Alex revisits Horizon Zero Dawn, specifically on PS4, as the PC port is currently bollocks. And Chance watched one horror movie, attempted to watch another, and then visited said horror upon others in Overwatch.

Chamberlain, Chane and Alex have all finished Ghost of Tsushima, but did any of them manage to do it with honor? Full spoilers in this episode! Also, Chance played some Fall Guys, Chamberlain happened upon another card based rogue like in Nowhere Prophet and Alex is suffering through Pillars of Eternity just so can import characters into the second game.

It has been two weeks since the release of Ghost of Tsushima. Chance and Alex have finished it (no spoiler this week beyond the middle of act 2) and Chamberlain is still muddling along at an Assassin’s Creed like pace. Chance think everyone should at least try lethal mode. Alex took a break between finishing the game and starting it again to put a few hours into Bloodborne, and Chamberlain’s unhealthy obsession with question marks is keeping him from making any real progress.

You can probably guess what dominates today’s discussion. Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have all played Ghost of Tsushima. They all agree that it is good (but they do not agree on how it is pronounced). But there must be dissent, so once the game discussion is over Chance and Alex beat Chamberlain about the head and neck with the Xbox game conference. He promises to all three remaining Microsoft loyalists, of which is one, that it is going to be fine. No really, it’s going to be fine.

This episode was recorded on the night of Ghost of Tsushima’s release. We at the Chamberlain and Chance and Alex podcast would like to apologize for Chance being a little distracted. A little preoccupied. A game that might as well have been made specifically for him is coming out in a few hours and Alex and Chamberlain are trying to get him to talk. The podcast would also like to apologize for the contents of the next episode in advance. It’s all samurai from here on out.

Are you hungry? You will be because this is a cooking show now. Chance lets his culinary burger tips slip and Chamberlain extolls the virtues of high proof stouts that he drinks for the flavor. No really. Come for the food, stay for Hamilton reactions that are years out of date, more talk of Slay the Spire and The Last of Us 2, and of how much Chance needs Ghost of Tsushima right now.

Beware, this episode is filled to the brim with The Last of Us 2 spoilers, but it has been two weeks since it came out, you should have finished it by now. Chamberlain and Chance have some nice things to say about it, and some not so nice things to say about it, but you’ll have listen for all the sordid details. Alex, needing to be different, played the Remnant From the Ashes expansion and swears that it is good. At the very least, it doesn’t have beloved characters behaving irrationally in service of the plot.

Chamberlain is significantly behind the curve in a lot of ways. This week it is in his progress towards the end of The Last of Us 2, so no spoilers past Seattle day 2. Chance has finished it, mostly holds his tongue regarding late game happenings, but still has serious issues with what is otherwise a fantastic game. And Alex has opted for Griftlands, another Borderlands 3 expansion and sharing the spotlight with his soon to be famous roommate.

It’s The Last of Us Part Two eve and two of our three heroes are giving it a pass, at least for now. Chamberlain made it all the way through a roguelike shooter by pretending it was a really hard shooter and deciding now to die. Alex has returned to Persona 4 Golden because he can play it on his fancy PC And Chance has Ellie’s newest adventure pre-loaded. He might even get around to playing it.

The PS5 is a real thing that exists. The box itself is questionable looking but there is no denying that a day one Spider-Man sequel is enough to get everyone hot and bothered. Chamberlain has grown tired of Path of Exile, opting to baselessly attack entire genres of game he does not like to keep himself amused. Alex is reasonably offended and Chance just digs into the hate mail bag for a good story. Also Brad Pitt at 22 was just dreamy.

Beware, Chance has acquired a taste for man flesh, having chewed through Maneater from beginning to end and back to the beginning again. He also has the audacity to say not nice things about Torchlight 2, for which he is taken to task by Alex, who is more interested in what may or may not look like a man in Prey. And Chamberlain has rejected manliness altogether and is playing Minecraft Dungeons because it was on Game Pass and he desperately needed something to do.

Chamberlain takes his turn in the way back machine this week, indulging in Ion Fury, a new shooter built on a twenty year old engine. Chance is happy that the wave of new blood has subsided and Overwatch is back to normal. Game are going so well that we another entry into Chance’s hate mail bag! And Alex puts the console versions of Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2 into the thunderdome. Plus real time reactions to Tenet! Yeah, we have no idea what it is about, either.

There is noting to play. There is so much nothing to play that Chamberlain dredged through his PS+ backlog and came up with a bad VR horror game and a mediocre brawler. Alex has gone all the way back to Dead Island, which he swears holds up. And Chance, having finally left his well groomed island, is enjoying a his second attempt at Breath of the Wild.

Chance returns to us, stronger than ever, bringing tales of Overwatch, Streets of Rage 4, a bunch of movies and, surprisingly, very little virtual gardening. Chamberlain has also played Streets of Rage 4, was unimpressed, and moved on to a mediocre Hotline Miami homage/rip off. And Alex has decided that three simultaneous JRPGs is what life is all about. Now that Person 5 Royal is over he goes looking for something equally long and dangerous to fill his time.

Please be patient with Chamberlain, he has been tasked with relaying Overwatch information via this week’s headline that he does not really understand. He also gets frustrated with a game that does not understand how gravity works before settling in with another remake. Alex, not content with playing two RPGs at the same time, starts up Final Fantasy 9 for the trifecta or time killing.

Chamberlain desperately wants to spoil the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and he does, but there is only so much he can say when no one else finished it. Alex finished Persona 4 Royal, proving that his heart, soul and wallet belong to Atlus as opposed to Square. And Chance’s time traveling has granted him an impossibly flowery island, for which he feels no remorse or regret.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not the game you remember. Well, Tifa is still dressed like Tifa and Cloud has spikey hair, but the combat is (for the most part) fun, the characters are well written and interesting things happen to them. Three out of three podcasters agree, just what a good boy or girl needs when stuck inside for weeks on end! No spoilers yet, that comes next week.

Chamberlain learns that the Resident Evil 3 remake minus any nostalgia for the original is just okay. Better than nothing but gladly not purchased. Alex learns that Atlus always gets his money twice and that Persona 5 Royal is also good but also not quite worth the asking price. And Chance learns that Chamberlain is right once in a while. Below is not good and Mortal Kombat 11 is a good time at all levels.

Chance no longer plays video games. He has left them behind for high stakes turnip trading, hard core gardening and the precision organization of a cute digital zen garden. Chamberlain hasn’t play much either, but not for lack of trying. After Doom Eternal, what else is there. And Alex reaches peak Borderlands 3 with it second expansion.

At long last, Doom Eternal has arrived. Chance celebrated this dark emergence by plating pear trees and visiting other people’s islands in Animal Crossing New Horizons. Disgusted, Chamber lain ripped and teared through all comers until running in into an enemy so out of place he nearly walked away. Alex had the sense to stop playing when it got to sweaty, returning to old friends with remastered textures.

Three men started Ori and the Will of the Wisps. One finished it. No spoilers yet, but Chamberlain liked it a lot while Alex and Chance decided that bugs were better than deadly furry things and got distracted by Hades (again) and X-Com 2 (again). By the time you listen to this Doom Eternal will be out. You have no reason to leave the house, you can live on demon murder.

Chance and Alex have a wonderful surprise for Chamberlain: they are playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps, too! And all three agree that it’s pretty good. More than a little derivative of a certain game about bugs, but certainly a shining bit of fun in these strange times. Alex continues to try and shame Chance into playing X-Com 2 and Chance continues his march through Hades with a new, very personal weapon.

Caution, despite out best efforts to avoid it, discussion of the real word sneaks into the final few minutes. There are also Darksiders Genesis spoilers, fresh opinions about Borderlands 3, a well thought out defense of the 2-2-2 mechanic in Overwatch and a very, very serious analogy involving unsatisfying manual sexual stimulation and Hugh Laurie. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Nary a beat to drop this week. Chamberlain continues to struggle with Hollow Knight, a game he now plays only out of spite for the Souls genre and all the evil it has done. Chance has killed Hades several times and continues to go back for more. And Alex returns to Path of Exile years after its release and find it bigger, better, and best of all, still free.car

Don’t tell anyone, but Chamberlain has feelings. A few. Maybe one, as exemplified by his reaction to To The Moon, an ancient PC game that just came out on Switch. He also enjoyed a little bit of No Mans Sky light with Journey to the Savage Planet. Chance’s gaming wanderlust took him through Untitled Goose Game, Overwatch and finally Hades on his swanky new PC. And Alex heaps more praise Dragon Age Inquisition. Also, heavy spoilers for the final season The Good Place, the first episode of Picard and maybe one or two for The Gentlemen.

Gather round, children, and listen to Uncle Chance tell tale of his favorite vampire movie. He also played just enough of Wandersong to learn that Chamberlain was right and that he really should play the rest of it. Chamberlain forced his way through Valfaris, the follow up to Slain and Alex has returned to Dragon Age Inquisition because he wants to remember Bioware for what they were, not what they are now.

200? 200!

It’s true. Welcome to episode 200 of the Chamberlain, Chance and Alex podcast. Games were delayed. Chance played Overwatch. Alex knows more than the average man about Greek tragedies. Chamberlain hates a soulslike. There may not be much coming out  now, but that is what a solid backlog is for.

We all made it to 2020. Mostly. So here are our picks for the 2020 hype list. There is a lot to look forward to and that doesn’t even include new hardware in the fourth quarter. Plus, Chamberlain finished a Souls-ish game and complain about it! Alex played just enough Death Stranding to have an opinion on it! And Chance has gone back to Sekiro and Overwatch because crushing his opposition never gets old.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A time for lists, arguments, and much less agreement than last year. These are our top games of 2019. While Alex and Chamberlain believe it was a less than mediocre year and struggled to fill their lists Chance found joy in walking, shooting swinging a sword. Yes, there is fighting about Death Stranding. As there should be.

It’s December and almost everyone is getting in touch with their inner child. Chance found Frozen 2 to be far superior to the first movie, with better songs and a story that may or may not be lifted directly from Moana. He also is still walking around in Death Stranding. Alex’s inner child allow him to enjoy the mafioso swan song of The Irishman and play through Borderlands 3 again (and not for the last time). Chamberlain has no inner child as evidenced by his disdain for Control and steadfast refusal to leave the house for any other forms of entertainment.

Every once in a while a game takes Chamberlain by surprise. It wasn’t Mad of Medan, a game not nearly as scary as it should have been, and it wasn’t Afterparty, a game that put him in the uncomfortable position of throwing in with the Devil himself. Chamberlain loves Astral Chain and he doesn’t care who knows it. Chance and Alex both started and stopped playing Jedi Fallen Order, leaving it behind for the incredible walking and packing of Death Stranding and the diplomatic subtleties of Civilization 6. No episode next week, we will see you in December!

Chance has played and still is playing Death Stranding. He has resisted the siren’s call of Overwatch in favor of a beautiful, obtuse walking simulator. Chamberlain is confused by this, but what does he know, he put up with Indivisible’s terrible second half. Alex continues to look for more game after the end of The Outer Worlds. Plus Overwatch PTR patch notes, XO19 news and week two of Chance’s movie review roundup. We call him the Canadian Ebert.

Movies reviews and drinking stories, just what you need to get you through to the weekend. Chance watched several good movies, culminating in The Lighthouse. He also survived the Overwatch 2 announcement, mostly because he gets to keep his skins. Chamberlain and Alex both finished The Outer Worlds and agree that it was pretty good, there just needed to be more of it. For Alex that means he as already started his second play through. Chamberlain played one of the worst games of the year instead.

Chance is back this week and he has brought with him Dolemite Is My Name, a stunning return to the Eddie Murphy of his childhood. Alex brought Toy Story 4 because he has built a healthy tolerance to Pixar’s heart string pulling. And Chamberlain brought John Wick 3, precisely one and a half too many John Wicks. Also starring a whole lot of The Outer Worlds and just enough Overwatch. Spoiler: Alex is already on his second playthrough.

This week, Chamberlain struggles to keep Alex on task. The Outer Worlds is downloaded, installed, booted up and ready to play. There is still time to talk about Watchmen, the latest Stars Wars trailers and his final moments with Borderlands before he jumps headfirst into the sci-fi capitalist apocalypse. Chamberlain made it through 90% of Link’s Awakening before its antiquated design made him feel too old to move his thumbs. That magic is gone, bring on the new, easier, more straight forward magic. The kind with quest markers and check points. Chance will be back soon, we promise. He will have twice as much Overwatch to talk about.

Chamberlain is still playing Borderlands 3, so close to the end he can almost smell it. Instead of finishing it he went to see a Metallica concert video and was cruelly reminded that everyone is getting old. Alex is still playing Remnant From the Ashes. He started over with a build specifically designed to beat the final boss and still barely managed it. And Chance is still sick, so he hasn’t been playing anything. But Tracer got a buff and a skin, so all is well.

This week, Chance spent a difficult two hours with Joker and soothed himself with Indivisible and Overwatch. Chamberlain was away from his television long enough to remember he had a Switch and put a few hours into Link Awakens. And Alex picked up a 3DS for some quality retro RPGs to play between minmaxing the postgame in Borderlands 3.

Alex is not here this week, so in his absence Chamberlain and Chance say awful, terrible, honestly mediocre things about Borderlands 3: it’s fine. Just fine. On the other hand, the opening of Ori and the Blind Forest is an emotional rollercoaster that momentarily distracts Chance from gun porn. Fair warning, we gush over Cate Blanchett quite a bit this week. Hope you love her, too.

Important work is done this week! Culturally significant, paying the bills, have a cigarette afterwards work! Without Alex to keep them in check, Chamberlain and Chance successfully cast a gender bent remake of The Princess Bride: The Prince’s Bride! It just needs to be made before Billy Crystal dies because recasting Miracle Max is madness. Also Greedfall, Blasphemous, Borderlands 3 and a little bit of Overwatch.

Welcome to your favorite podcast about geography, food, movies and the occasional video game. Chance has finished Control and dubs it the best thing Remedy has ever done. He also would the rest of the quickplay players in Overwatch to get their shit together, thank you very much. Alex utters the dangerous words ‘Chamberlain was right’ by enjoying Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. And Chamberlain hates of the Dark Crystal Netflix show before being disappointed in a horror game that no one knew about and had little chance of being any good in the first place.

This week Chamberlain exhibits a shocking level of innocence and naivety before complaining about the weak sounding shotgun in Wolfenstein Youngblood. Alex is on his second trip through Remnant From the Ashes and still is not tired of it. And Chance had to look up some hate mail in Overwatch to make sure it was hate mail. He also played just enough Control to know that it, for better or worse, is a Remedy game. There is also a fair amount of talk about Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special, so someone, somewhere will be offended.

Neither rain nor snow nor overflowing washing machine basin can keep the podcast from being delivered on time. Chamberlain’s basement may be a bit moist but he still finished A Plague Tale and samples several indies from Xbox Game Pass. Chance did his Overwatch placements and is even better than he thought he was. And Alex does his best to spend Chance’s money by talking about Remnant: From the Ashes.

It’s been two weeks and Chamberlain is back in the States, not necessarily by choice. He also parted with some money to play Magic Arena. Again, not necessarily by choice. Chance took his Switch places and didn’t use it, opting to read instead. And Alex spent his time with another isometric turn based RPG. It’s almost like he knows Bioware is going to be shut down any day now and is longing for the good old days.

Chamberlain is still playing Days Gone. He doesn’t like it, but he keeps playing it, because he doesn’t know what else to do and because complaining about it makes Chance a tiny bit mad. Chance tried the new Fire Emblem and struggled to find the turn based combat in a game about talking to everyone and making sure all your classmates like you. And Alex returned to Torchlight 2 to rub in the fact that the console release is still a ways off. Brief spoilers for The Boys and rampant Days Gone spoilers throughout! Also, we’re taking next week off, so see you in two weeks!

Chamberlain hates a lot of things. This is not news. He thinks Days Gone is linear and boring. He hates the new Picard trailer and he especially hates The Big Bang Theory. Chance hates Veronica Mars but apart from that he is a font of positivity. He loves Overwatch, is coming around on the 2-2-2 meta and had quite a bit of fun with the first half of Hellboy 2019. Alex operates on a much more even keel, having sensible fun with Spider-Man Far From Home and weaning Panchito off of fatty nuts. The bird will live forever.

Truly, a very special episode with a very special guest. Chamberlain’s significantly better half, Amy, subs in for a discussion of Stranger Things 3. Alex betrays everything Chamberlain stands for and returns to Sekiro when taking a break from old Star Wars based MMOs. Chance is still playing Overwatch entirely to make clip shows of dominating fools. And Chamberlain himself remains unconvinced that long form television is a good idea, opting for mediocre open world shooters and mundane Diablo clones.

This week Alex finds joy in Gwent, the card game in Witcher 3, and then sadness when he can’t play Destiny 2. Chamberlain finds sadness in Samurai Shodown’s online play and a mixture of ennui and elation in Bloodstained. And Chance dispenses sadness to others in Overwatch and had a thoroughly middling reaction to My Friend Pedro.

You know it was a rough E3 when the post show hype lasts less than a single episode. Instead Chamberlain finished up Battlechasers and Bendy and the Ink Machine while continuing to avoid the spiteful gaze of Sekiro. Alex has returned to Dragon Quest 11, this time with better music. And Chance sampled both Cadence of Hyrule and My Friend Pedro. Also, send in phrases for Alex to teach his bird. The filthier, the better

It was not spectacular this year. Be it the preponderance of pre-rendered trailers over gameplay, the absence of Sony or that this is the tail end of the generation, E3 this year arrived and left with hardly a whimper. Chance thinks Nintendo won, Chamberlain is still in the pocket of Microsoft, and Alex thinks they are both crazy and played the free Borderland 2 expansion.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have a lot to say about a disaster this week. A disaster that could have been prevented, that was brought about by both incredible incompetence and rampant corruption. But enough about the Google Stadia, they watched Chernobyl and all enjoyed it. Alex has returned to Fallout 4, Chamberlain beat Devil May Cry 5 on the easiest difficulty and feels no shame and Chance impresses strangers in Ovrwatch. Oh, and E3 is next week.

Chance has finished Days Gone and still has nice things to say about it. Chamberlain went back to Anthem just long enough to understand why people who play it ‘correctly’ are so upset before rolling around in the nostalgia of the Resident Evil 2 remake. Alex has discovered his favorite Obsidian game since Fall Out New Vegas: Pillars of Eternity 2. It has pirates and turn base combat, what else do you need? Surprisingly few Game of Thrones spoilers this week, but there are a few, so be warned.

Alex has handed out homework so he, Chance and Chamberlain recount their favorite quests in games. Some are old, some are newer and at least one comes at the expense of all horde players on a specific server. Everything you have heard about Anthem is true, and them some: it is a sad game. And most of you have heard about Days Gone is not. There is a lot of game there, you just have to take the time to find it. Bonus points if you recognize the opening song. It is thematically relevant, I swear.

It’s been two weeks (and the Russo’s said it was okay) so it is Avengers Endgame spoiler time. Chamberlain pretends like he’s seen it, then reveals that he hates time travel as a plot device and violently proclaims that Back to the Future 3 is the best of the trilogy. Chance liked it at first, then didn’t like it later, then liked it again, then went back to Overwatch. And Alex went to go see a movie, saw a movie, had a good time, and makes no apologies for it.

There is a card shaped hole is Chamberlain’s heart. He has freed himself from the abusive rogue-like Slay the Spire and fallen in with the much friendlier Steamworld Quest. Chance has found himself unable to play action games after Sekiro so he has snuggled up to the comfortable ‘pretty good’ warmth of Days Gone. And Alex assures you that Avengers Endgame is three movies in one, that is works, and that Borderlands 2 is still fun to play while waiting for Borderlands 3.

This week Chamberlain can‘t wait to stop watching Kingdom Hearts III and play it, while he can’t wait to stop playing Mortal Kombat 11 and watch it. Sekiro has ruined Chance who had a disappointing time with Katana Zero and Cuphead (for different reasons). And Alex has firmly joined the church of Borderlands, having min-maxed Borderlands 2 to an absurd degree.

Chamberlain is impatiently waiting for Mortal Kombat 11. All he has to pass the time is the Kingdom Hearts 3 drinking game, a nameless bottle and potential liver problems. Chance is waiting for Alex to play Sekiro, which isn’t happening any time soon, so he has gone back to waiting for new Tracer skins, which is also not happening any time soon. And Alex is waiting for something to amuse him as much as Risk as Rain 2.

Chamberlain is strangely disappointed that The Walking Dead’s Final Season is not depressing enough. Take that as your spoiler warning. Chance has finished Sekiro which makes him cooler than most of you. And Alex has split his time between Risk of Rain 2 and teaching his bird to talk. Seriously.

Chamberlain loves you, the listeners, so much that he took two bullets for you this week. He finished Darksiders III, which you should not play, as well as Call of Cthulhu, which you also should not play. Chance deftly deflected those bullets, crushing Chamberlain’s poise, and spent his time getting to know Sekiro on a deeply personal level. And Alex spent all of his time being good at Risk of Rain 2, a surprisingly complete and functional early access title.

Ninjas appeared in the night and kidnapped Chance and Alex, forcing them to play Sekiro. They seem to be enjoying it, but that could be the katanas pointed at their backs. They at least got a better deal than Chamberlain who was kidnapped by a red headed Nephilim and forced to play the shambling corpse of game that is Darksiders III. He may not survive.

This week, the podcast is on time! Does it really matter what we talk about? Sure, Chamberlain finds small pleasures in Super Mario Bros Wii U Deluxe and Monster Boy and the Cursed Island, Alex confirms our belief that Ninja Theory’s DmC is a tremendous game and Chance is now internet famous for his Overwatch prowess, but you are listening to this episode at least 24 hours sooner than last week. It can’t get any better.

We apologize for the lateness of this week’s episode. Sometimes the tubes just don’t cooperate. Chamberlain slums it with Shadow Warrior 2, the B-est B game to every be a B game. Chance has purchased another AAA titles that he will play for a scant few days, this time it’s Devil May Cry 5. And Alex is a proud dad. Of a bird. No really. And just a few light Captain Marvel spoiler to round out the day.

Chamberlain saw How to Train Your Dragon The Hidden World and remembers that it wasn’t bad, but that’s about it. He also declares Just Cause 4 much, much less than the sum of it parts. Chance introduces the new Overwatch hero and tries to convince everyone that he is not as OP as he sounds. And Alex is one step closer to buying a  bird to keep him company when he plays Resident Evil 2.

A Chamberlain and his money are soon parted, this time by the archaically terrible save system in Metro Exodus. An Alex makes much better use of his money by purchasing the next Civilization expansion. And maybe a bird. And a Chance rarely needs to part with his money, since Overwatch is always there. Unless a seasonal event is on and there are loot boxes to purchase.

The trailer for live action Aladdin is out. That’s bad. The new expansion for Civilization 6 comes out very soon. That’s good! Unworthy? That’s bad. Overwatch? That’s (still) good! Battlefield V? That’s bad. And the trailer for Frozen 2? That’s potassium benzoate.

No politics this week, only games and maybe a movie or two. We promise. It’s been too cold to get worked up about anything outside of our warm, cozy houses. Chamberlain has moved from one mediocre Diablo clone to another. What Shadows Awakening lacked in creativity Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor Martyr make up in big words and inscrutable mechanics. Alex has returned to Slay the Spire but has yet to actually slay the eponymous spire. And Chance and Overwatch are on a ‘break,’ so he had plenty of time for Darkest Dungeon, Horizon Zero Dawn and Resident Evil 2.

Fair warning, this week’s episode veers right off the road into the real world, something we do our best to avoid. We have to talk about something – it’s January. Chamberlain fills the doldrums with a bad Diablo clone. Chance spends a few days away from Overwatch and is getting the shakes. And Alex scrapes ice off his car windshield with a credit card before watching another season of True Detective.

It’s time for the 2019 hype list! These are the game that we are excited about for this year. This is not a promise that they will be good, or that they will even come out in the next twelve months, it is just an anticipatory list, a way to build our expectations up to an unreasonable degree. Too many big words, never mind, just GET HYPE!

Welcome to season 4! There is much to catch up on after the holiday break. Chamberlain spent an embarrassing about of time Assassin’s Creed Odyssey before playing Mega Man 11 and remembering that his child-like reflexes left him several decades ago. Alex is playing Borderland 2. Again. And Chance spent precious little time on his Switch, and when he did he wished he was playing something else. Something with ‘Over’ in the title.

Prepare yourself for the best games of 2018. Don’t listen to the VGAs. Pay no attention to all those critics who are compensated for sharing their opinions. Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have the honest, selfish truth for you and, in a first, agree on something very, very important. See you in 2019.

Sometimes we get almost everything right, like Chance did for his picks of games to look forward to in 2018. Sometimes two out of three ain't bad, like Alex's picks for what to look forward to in 2018. And sometimes a game is so embarrassing that it taints the rest of the list. All the Red Dead Redemptions 2s and God of Wars in the world cannot scrub Agony from Chamberlain's list. There's always next year.

Only three episodes left this year! This week Alex ties up some loose ends in Diablo 3 with seasonal characters. Chamberlain starts his third open world game in a row and wonders how much sleep he really needs to get by and Chance finds a new way to play Overwatch: on tiny screens centimeters from his eyes. Also work sucks, we need to find a way to get paid to play games.

It’s spoiler time on the Chamberlain and Chance podcast! All parts of Red Dead Redemption 2 are fair game, from the opening snow to the second epilogue. Sure, the game accomplishes what it set out to do, but is that good enough? Also this week: Chamberlain does what a spider can, Alex does what a Hollow Knight can and Chance slaughters a sacred Nintendo cow.

There are games other than Red Dead Redemption 2. Chamberlain was forced to play Spider-Man thanks to an Xbox Live outage and sampled The Tetris Effect. Alex bought Destiny 2 again in a valiant attempt to keep Activision from selling and/or closing Bungie. And Chance played through most of Diablo 3 on the switch. But all anyone thought about was collecting bounties, rustling horses and robbing banks. There is no escape from Rockstar’s dusty monster.

Welcome yall to the Red Dead Redemption 2 episode. Of the three stars of the podcast, two of them are more than willing to overlook the game’s faults and live in its world. The third compares it to a stinky bus with very clean windows. The rest of the industry doesn’t stop just because Rockstar released a game so there is still time for Destiny 2, headlines, and just a little bit of Overwatch.

It’s almost Halloween so Chamberlain ambushes Chance and Alex, forcing them to pick their favorite horror games. Anything to provide a distraction from all of the terrible games he has been playing while not playing Spider-Man. Alex has returned to X-Com 2 and Chance has sampled a wide range of games, from welcome remakes on hand held systems to games that have grown more fugly with age. Everyone is just passing the time until Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out.

This week: Chamberlain survives a visit from a long dead author bent on hideous revenge. He also finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider and likes Lara much more when she is being very, very bad. Chance’s honeymoon with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is over and he is not nearly as in love with it as he used to be. And Alex is busy stacking monsters by descending size in a Final Fantasy game that was less than half the price and more than twice the fun as driving through the desert with a bunch of bros wearing all black.

There’s a new cat on the podcast! Sure, other things happen – Chamberlain spent 65 hours on Dragon Quest XI just to come up a few hours short, Alex had enough of Destiny 2 and is giving Assassin’s Creed Origins another try, and Chance did not play all that much of anything but he did get a new cat, which is the most important thing. Well, that, and he was right about The Messenger.

It’s a quiet week at the Chamberlain and Chance podcast. Chamberlain is still working on Dragon Quest XI, though ‘working on’ is a bit generous. More like experiencing in a calm, relaxed manner. Chance still has not finished Spider-Man but he did fire up Okami on the Switch just because he wanted to play a classic. And Alex is missing. Not really missing, the hurricane left him alone, he just has better things to do.

This week Spider-Chance does whatever a Spider-Chance can, namely not play Overwatch in favor of Spider-Man. Alex has rolled back his take on Dragon Quest XI from really, really good to just pretty good and it only took him fifty hours to get there. Chamberlain finished more of We Happy Few than 98% of the people who started it and wishes he didn’t.

There’s a new JRPG in town and it is more than cute enough to garner Alex’s affections. Hopefully the good feelings for Dragon Quest XI last longer than they did for Ni No Kuni 2. Chance has added another Metroid-vania to his list, pushing Chamberlain’s beloved Guacamelee down a notch in favor of The Messenger. Chamberlain has played more We Happy Few than anyone else in the entire world and it hurts.

A rare event: Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have all played Guacamelee 2. Chamberlain loves it more than is healthy, Alex has some reasonable criticisms and Chance simply enjoys pile driving skeletons with a chicken. A spire has been slain, Kratos still has it where it counts and someone is still playing Overwatch (it’s Chance).

Chamberlain comes prepared with a list of changes that would make Dead Cells enjoyable for old, cranky people. Chance counters with cruel facts and some very harsh words about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night being overrated. Feeling may have been hurt. Alex is still in love with Diablo 3 and may or may not have been sober at the time of recording.

Just when you thought the podcast was finally safe Chamberlain comes back. He has played a lot while he was away, including pushing his boundaries with Slay the Spire and Enter the Gungeon. He also started and is not sure how much he is enjoying Octopath Traveler. Chance and Alex are still playing Dead Cells, though Chance is not as in love with it as he was last week. And did you see that Doom trailer? RIP AND TEAR.

Alex has fallen in love with that once-pretty-kinda'-bad game No Man's Sky, and Chance isn't sure he can commit to an unhealthy relationship with The Banner Saga.  Also, did you see Rampage?  It's okay! 

Alex is basking in the inner beauty of Slay the Spire, Chance has found a new muse in the form of The Banner Saga and holy crap there are a lot of changes coming to Overwatch right now.  

Abandoned to sail the unforgiving seas of the web without a navigator, Alex and Chance strike out for adventure and end up describing a series of turns in roguelike card battler Slay the Spire, and make history as together they discover a level of podcasting quality heretofore unknown to modern science. 

Chance has developed a passive, disinterested affection for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and did you know that Galak-Z: Varient S is a hate crime?  Turns out it is!

Alex’s internet connection was compromised by nazis so he will be unavailable until BJ rescues him, or a new modem arrives, whichever come first. Chance is disappointed in Isle of Dogs, disappointed in the Sombra changes and disappointed in Chamberlain for still not playing any more of Hollow Knight. In his defense, Chamberlain played a game he found fun, Steamwold Dig 2, and a game featuring a predictable but still effective punch in the gut, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. Too bad it was just an add for another game coming out later.

Was the decade plus wait for The Incredibles 2 worth it? No. Did Chamberlain complete his assignment of returning to Hollow Knight? No, he is a coward and played a Lego game instead. Did Chace play some Overwatch? What kind of a question is that. He even came across the rarest of creatures: a quality console Anna player. Is Alex done with Diablo 3? No. He never will be.

The nearly news free void of the week following E3 is filled with one thing: Hollow Knight on the Switch. Alex played some Diablo 3 and Chamberlain sampled a few games but all anyone really wants to talk about is Hollow Knight. It was so good that Chance played it instead of Overwatch and that hasn’t happened in months. Also, never listen to Chamberlain. He is a font of lies and poorly thought out but stubbornly held to opinions.

It’s Agony day! And it’s terrible. Chamberlain is more frightened by the audio bugs than the Dante-esque environs. Chance returns to Wizard of Legend and plays the first twenty minutes over and over before farming plays of the game in his new Tracer skin. Alex finally puts aside Persona 5 for snack sized portion of a game in Steamworld Dig 2. Fair warning, a little politics talk is present and we make fun of Rosanne. So if you liked the series reboot… Who am I kidding, no one watched past the first episode. Good riddance.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex go through their E3 2018 wish list. Some of it is reasonable, even probable, but Chamberlain hoping that Konami sells its IPs to Microsoft is just silly. Chance takes the first exit on the Death Road to Canada in favor of the familiar abuse of Darkest Dungeon. Alex returns for a forth play through of Persona 5 and Chamberlain swears up and down that Ni No Kuni 2 made him happy and no, he wasn’t drinking at the time.

Chamberlain and Chance attempt movie talk without their movie guy, managing to not spoil Avengers: Infinity War and not think too hard about A Quiet Place, lest they ruin it.  Chance rags on Nintendo exclusives that he keeps buying and Chamberlain has found just enough in Ni No Kuni II to keep him playing. They also watch the latest Agony trailer together and it is truly unpleasant for all involved.

Be warned, God of War spoilers are present all through this episode! It was a great game, not a perfect game, and there is some real disappointment to talk about. Chance has since started another rogue-like Zelda-like in Swords of Ditto. Chamberlain tries to figure out why Ni No Kuni 2 opens with an unprovoked nuclear attack and Alex is playing Mass Effect Andromeda again. I thought he hated that game.

This is the spoiler free God of War episode. We make no such promises regarding next week! For the first time Chamberlain, Chance and Alex are all playing the same thing at the same time and are all, for the most part, enjoying themselves. There is matter of Chamberlain hating Minit that must be taken care of and there is a certain Tracer nerf that Chance hates. Aside from those everyone is in a pretty good mood.

God of War is only two days away and dominates the conversation. Chamberlain and Chance try to talk about other things, like Overwatch and Minit and getting kicked in the balls by the end of Life Is Strange Before the Store, but it’s no use. The Dad of War demands all of the attention, so much so that Alex is missing this week, working his fingers to the bone so he can afford to both eat and kill Norse monsters in incredibly graphic ways. Sacrifices must be made.

Chamberlain and Chance combine their powers and take Far Cry 5 down a peg or three. Warning, both endings are spoiled in the last fifteen minutes of this episode! Alex revisits Mass Effect Andromeda and, big surprise, the combat is still good and everything else is terrible. Chance hates Torb even though he gets multiple plays of the game with him and Chamberlain is annoyed with sixteen year old girls who for some reason lack time manipulation powers.

For the first time in many months Chamberlain and Chance are playing the same thing at the same time and share a similar opinion, namely that Far Cry 5 is good when it isn’t terrible and that it's true shame that it is not a whole lot better. Alex rebels against them both and declares Ni No Kuni 2 a bore, threatening to desert it for more time with the Final Fantasy XII remake. And one of them played some Overwatch. You’ll never guess who.

Alex nearly died this week! No really, it’s a good story involving a very old car and very real flames. His brush with death lead him to replay Final Fantasy XII because that is what one does. Chance is no longer stuck on the second boss in Flinthook, having graduated to being stuck on the third boss in Flinthook. And Chamberlain plays a bad indy twin stick shooter and a soulless racer that had been getting sequels for decades.

Alex has a new friend named Dead Cells! This new friend is happy to kill him at a moment's notice and steal hours upon hours of progress but other than that he's not a bad guy. Chamberlain plays a slew of little games alongside finally catching up on last year's Call of Duty WWII and Chance makes up with Flinthook after their messy breakup on the Vita. Overwatch news, Stephen Hawking, Maya Angelou and the evils of pesto sauce. A truly complete episode.

This post Oscars podcast contains spoilers and discussion of two whole movies that were nominated for best picture! Yes, we all love Del Toro, we just wish that Silent Hills was still at thing. Chamberlain exercises his newly found freedom to stop playing games and walks away from two gigantic RPGs before returning to Telltale for some perfectly mediocre entertainment. Alex is still trying to conquer the known world and Chance enjoys some quality time with his Switch thanks to a pretty good pixel art indie and a very powerful, leggy witch.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or at least get really pent up, as Chamberlain, Chance and Alex struggle to get through an extra week’s content before anyone falls asleep. No less than six movies were watched and half of them were actually good. Everyone played Assassin’s Creed: Origins and two of them liked it. Alex is having issues with pirates in the Civilization expansion. Chamberlain forced his way through The Evil Within 2 and Chance started all sorts of games but only enjoyed Bayonetta 2 on the Switch and Overwatch.

After years and years of waiting Chance finally gets to play Mercenary Kings on his Vita. It’s was great right up until he fell through the floor of an elevator and he had to sooth his fury with Overwatch capture the flag. Alex had just enough to time to take over the world in the Civilization expansion and Chamberlain can barely contain his excitement for Assassin’s Creed Origins and Blanka’s arrival in Street Fighter 5.

Alex and Chance are accepting donations in the form of hours of sleep in case anyone wants to curry their favor. Chamberlain cannot be curried, he is not near spicy enough. New indy Celeste and old AAA monster Assassin’s Creed Origins share time with Overwatch, headlines, a movie called Unleashed that no one but Chance has heard of and, for some reason, Megan Fox’s thumbs.

Without Alex to keep them on task Chamberlain and Chance devolve into two old men telling tales of the glory days of diku muds, World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 11. There is still time for headlines, a more reserved reaction to Iconoclasts on all parts, freshly released and mostly welcome Overwatch nerfs and a strangely positive reaction to Assassin’s Creed Origins. 

Chance had a very good game of Overwatch and wants everyone to know about it. He also is more excited by Iconolasts than he has been about a game since Sundered. Chamberlain achieves a new emotional low after attempting, and failing, to complete chapter 4 of Middle Earth: Shadow of War and Alex is hurting so bad for something good to play he has turned to superbly narrated nature documentaries for solace.

This week Alex takes a deep dive into Dungeon of the Endless, a roguelike dungeon defense game that he has been returning to on a regular basis for years. Chamberlain comes to a tentative agreement with Shadow of War and confesses to playing just a little but too much of a free to pay mobile game. Chance buys Mister Shifty twice, plays it once, and then mourns an undocumented Overwatch nerf.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex make wild but educated guesses at what is going to be great in 2018. Some of the games wont come out. At least one will probably be terrible. But there is no denying the impending greatness of Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War and Civilization 6 Rise and Fall. Chamberlain plays a mediocre South Park game followed by a so so Star Wars game followed by an average Lord of the Rings game. Alex is still working on Titan Quest and Chance stops playing Overwatch long enough to defend Bright.

Welcome back! Chamberlain, Chance and Alex return from the holiday break to spoil the crap out of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Seriously, no spoiler goes unspoiled in the last thirty minutes. Chamberlain plays, and enjoys, a Mario game for the first time in around a decade. Alex falls in love with an old classic and Chance spins a tale of Tracer, Zarya, their ults and a big bang before jumping back into the stressful embrace of Darkest Dungeon.

In an attempt to be 'professional sounding' Chamberlain, Chance and Alex discuss various best ofs for 2017: Best Art Direction, Best Music, Best Mechanic, not to mention the first annual 'Fuck Yoko Taro' award. There is still time to talk about awesome Overwatch matches, mediocre Destiny 2 experiences, Diablo 3 knock offs, bad Switch idies and why no one should bother playing Nights of Azure 2.

Chance took some time off work and going outside since last week, played all of the games and still made time to play Overwatch. Alex had a good time ranching slimes, proving that Chamberlain is a bitter, bitter man for hating the game. Chamberlain's heart did grow about a half size when he learned that all the pixels in the world won't make Forza 7 as much fun as Forza Horizon 3. And, for the record, EA can suck it.

Chance has finally found games good enough to pull him away from Overwatch and they are either childhood nostalgia trips by Nintendo or the expansion to one of his game of the year candidates. Alex confirms that he already knows what he liked by playing it again and Chamberlain spends the entire podcast watching the obnoxiously large Forza 7 4K patch download. It may still not be done.

Things get a bit loud as Chamberlain played Marvel vs Capcom Infinite (poorly) a few minutes before going on the air. Chance has a much more relaxing, sublime time with Hob and Alex confirms that the X-Com 2 expansion is worth the price of admission. Any statements that Chamberlian enjoyed playing Overwatch, even a little bit, are patently false. 

Chance brings the movie news along with the Overwatch news and talks about not playing Undertale while watching Fences and The Girl With all the Gifts. Alex barely survived his vacation and Chamberlain attempts to declare who can and can't get paid to write about videogames. And then everyone talks about their siblings for some reason.

Chance is remarkably composed this week following the announcement of serious changes to Mercy, one of his two Overwatch mains. He also defends himself well from Chamberlain's needling about loot boxes and their level of evilness. Alex can't get enough of a good thing and plays Hollow Knight again and Chamberlain is slightly disappointed in Rock of Ages 2. It's still silly but did it have to be so hard this time around? Apologies to Drink Box Studios for Chamberlain's awful, awful flub.

There is Overwatch news, something that Chance brings every week. And there is Overwatch love, which Chance more than brings every week. Then there is the less wholesome side of Overwatch internet fandom that Chamberlain stumbled into. He paid the price and so will you. Alex is back to heap more deserving praise on Hollow Knight and Chance almost apologizes for seeing Alien Covenant.

Alex is back and Chamberlain and Chance are so overjoyed that they share their personal crying triggers. There are video games discussed eventually, including Prey, Sundered, Overwatch (of course) and classics like Torchlight 2. They also try to cast Bioshock, the movie, with moderate success.

Please excause Chamberlain's funny voices this week. He fell in love with almost all of Pyre, especially with the parts he didn't have to play and the narrator's voice. Chance took all of the abuse the Sundered could muster and enjoyed it, returning for more. It is impossible to turn one's nose up at a souls light metroidvania. He also watched the live action Ghost in the Shell, something that he begs everyone else not to do.

Chamberlain finally takes it too far by bad mouthing Horizon Zero Dawn (because of couse he does) and Chance and Alex make him pay the price. Doomfist has arrived and Chace was right about his voice and Alex wishes he was just a bit younger so he could have enjoyed Spiderman Homecoming more. He still liked it, he's just getting old. And just in case you were curious, Micro Machines World Series is terrible.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex deal with their post E3 hangovers by arguing about how real Beyond Good and Evil 2 is, how boring Mass Effect Andromeda's NPCs are, how much cocaine Stephen King has done, how addictive Overwatch still is and just how much self abuse is too much. About two and half years of Darkest Dungeon sounds just right.

This week's episode comes with two warnings and a caveat. Warning 1: Massive Prey spoilers are present. Warning 2: Politics and the state of the world once again invade our nice, calm, videogame podcast. And the caveat: Chamberlain isn't here this week, but Chance and Alex prove that he may not be as important as he thinks he is.

Alex is back with Chamberlain and Chance and that means it's movie night! Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Wonder Woman and Blade Runner 2049 are all fair game. Prey is more cerebral than expected, Nioh sucked, and Little Nightmares was not worth the price of admission. 

Chamberlain is on his own with Chance this week and gets to eat all of the crow regarding Darksiders III being a real thing. Hype levels are set to cautious. Chance plays a lot of games that aren't Overwatch and Chamberlain run into yet another game that is just not for him before enjoying the single player part of an online only game.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex guarantee a much cleaner, nicer episode than last week in spite of the giggle worthy episode number. At least there are fewer apologies to be made this time. Chamberlain hates everything because he is done with Tales of Berseria but he at least gets to be right about The Deer God. Alex decided that playing something of quality again is better than playing new, bad games. In other words Persona 5 is just too sexy to walk away from. And Chance played with, and held his own against, some true Overwatch pros.

Storytime with Chamberlain concludes as he spoils the ending of Tales of Berseria. Velvet's outfit is still terrible. Everything else is good. Alex finished Persona 5, no spoilers coming, but he does admit to falling for all of the upcoming DLC. Chance makes it 45 minutes into the episode before mentioning Overwatch, a new record, but also spent some quality time with Flinthook. There is also a very strange conversation about Chamberlain's pants. You have been warned.

Get ready for week 2 of Persona 5/Tales of Berseria discussion. Even Chance stopped playing Overwatch just long enough to sample the stylish JRPG. Alex is missing sixty plus hours from his life and Chamberlain actively roots against the 'heroes'. Headlines, Overwatch news and just a tiny bit of world events to keep things interesting. No gets dragged out of a plane. Yet.

An episode full of suprises! Alex insists that Mass Effect Andromeda is not terrible, Chance played something other than Horizon and Chamberlain, for a moment, has a softer side. The weekly Overwatch update is not forgotten and the three discuss their favorite games endings of all time.

Early 2017 has seen an embarrassment of quality games released and what do our heroes play? More Horizon, Zelda and Civilization with a dash of Hollow Knight for good measure. Chance wants to live in Alloy's world and hunt robot dinosaurs. Alex gets his PS4 fixed (finally) and Chamberlain is stuck between his begrudging enjoyment of Breath of the Wild and the deep catharsis of Nintendo fans' tears.

Chance got to enjoy a good game between podcasts: Horizon Zero Dawn. His excitement is, as always, contagious. Chamberlain opted to not have fun, instead forcing his way through the second half of Final Fantasy XV. Spoiler: he did not like it and doesn't think anyone else should play it. Games are not supposed to feel like work, right?

Chamberain and Chance do the best they can this week. No Alex means no one to keep them in check. Anime is freely discussed along side tea bagging's place in competative gaming. There is news, there is a mediocre open world game in Mafia III and there is, of course, more Overwatch.

Chamberlain is excited beyond reason about his Switch preorder. Chance and Alex do there best to bring him back down to reality and get his to act his age. Watch_Dogs 2 is suprisingly good, Dragon Quest 8 is a little skeevy and somebody played something that wasn't Overwatch. And then he played more Overwatch.

The internet in the US still works (for now) so Chamberlain and Chance are back with good things to say about Dishonored 2 and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, mean things to say about ReCore and just a dash of polite Canadian smugness. And then Chance talks about Overwatch who is not a sponsor of the show. Yet.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex all retreat to their happy places for obvious reasons. No heavy political discussion, we promise. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare is good. Far Cry 4 is still good. Darkest Dungeon is even still good. You know what else is good? Cananda.

Too bad the immigration site is down at the moment.

Nintendo reveals the Switch and do Chamberlain, Chance or Alex have any hope in it? In a word, No, but listen on for why. In better news, Gears of War 4 is as awesome as Chamberlain hoped, Civilization 6 will eat up all of your free time, and the Vita lives, due mostly to Chance's constant nagging tweets.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex are back after a brief technical break. They still talk about video games that you should or should not play and television that you really should watch. This week VR is dismissed, Darkest Dungeon is praised, the PC master race makes an appearance and Chamberlain plays another terrible game.

Chamberlain finds fault with Doom for not being the same as Doom always was, Chance plays a lot more Overwatch and is lukewarm after his PSVR demo, and they both manage to stay awake in spite of one of them being tired and the other trying to watching Evo pools while recording. 

Chamberlain and Chance limp towards the end of E3, drunk on trailers and news. Soon they will start to play games again instead of just watching games that might come out eventually. Just kidding, Chance is still playing Overwatch and Chamberlain is playing, and defending, some mediocre shooter.

Chamberlain and Chance welcome back Alex from the madness of Dark Souls 3 new game plus. Games are discussed, news relayed, and Chance explains why Canada is just that much better than anything south of the longest unguarded boader in the world.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex prove unable to stick to any single topic that isn't Dark Souls 3 for more than a few minutes. There is less anime this time, we promise.

Mr. Alex McCracken returns for a second round with Chamberlain and Chance, one of whom is excited for VR, on of whom is understandly dubious, and one of whom just might have a questionable tattoo.

Lionhead dies, All Games Beta lives and the horror genre limps along. Chamberlain and Chance bring you a weeks worth of news and reactions to old games in under an hour and a half.

Special guest Alex McCracken of Dailycrackpot.blogspot.com joins Chamberlain and Chance for some loving words about Deadpool, Crash Bandicoot, the timelessness of pixel art and your weekly news. Chamberlain's 'get of my lawn' counter sits at one.

Chamberlain and Chance cover the week's news in gaming. Chamberlain pretends to know something about Street Fighter and Chance makes Galak-Z jealous by talking about how awesome Dying Light is.

Your weekly recap of gaming news sees Chamberain make enemies of the entire Smash community and Chance confess to being personally offended by Braid.

Post Christmas week in review. Chance gets depressed about new consoles while Chamberlain reveals his hidden love for the way Nintendo used to be.