Gaming In The Wild - Video Game Reviews

New year, new series! The first episode in season 2 of Gaming in the Wild is a banger, featuring three games I played during the winter break - the beautiful Spiritfarer, the bonkers WATTAM, and the adrenalised Nex Machina. Also featured: aurora sightings, things I’ve gotten in the mail recently, and how to deal with game frustration. You can come say hi and follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. You can also support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. As always, thanks for listening!

In the final of three GOTY 2020 episodes, this week’s guest is gamer, streamer, and brand new dog owner Dani aka Girl With Box. Dani brings a fresh multiplayer selection that helped her stay sane in the year that was. You can follow Dani at https://twitter.com/girlwithbox. (Note, Dog With Box, aka Muncy, does a bit of background gnawing at the start - if it bothers you, jump in at minute 17 and you’re safe from there. The game under discussion is Just Dance.) You can come say hi and follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. You can also support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. And as always, thanks for listening!

My second Games of the Year guest is Louis, co-host of the excellent Time Played 3hr podcast, who dropped by to talk about the history of rally driving, in-game photography, turning horses into glue, Cyberpunk 2077, and much more besides. It was a really fun chat, be sure to check out Time Plays 3hr, streaming now on all reputable podcast services.   Games discussed: 12:01 Umurangi Generation 18:35 The Pathless 30:40 Wide Ocean Big Jacket 36:00 In Other Waters 43:40 Animal Farm 56:00 A Short Hike 64:44 Art of Rally 72:36 The Last Of Us Pt. II 93:03 Cyberpunk 2077 106:07 Kentucky Route Zero 118:50 Wandersong 119:41 Manifold Garden You can find the article Louis mentioned about Last Of Us Pt. II here: https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/bv8da4/the-not-so-hidden-israeli-politics-of-the-last-of-us-part-ii -- And you can find the great video games e-zine I referenced called Heterotopias here: http://www.heterotopiaszine.com and the Adam Robinson-Yu Short Hike lecture here: https://youtu.be/ZW8gWgpptI8. Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild . You can also support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild . The music in this show is by Ben Babbitt, from Kentucky Route Zero. As always, thanks for listening!

On this week’s episode I welcome special guest Ciaran Daly to the show. He's one of the people behind the Radical Art Review magazine (and kind of my “gaming mentor”). We each talked about five games we loved playing this year. It’s not all about 2020 releases - some of them are from last year, or earlier - but it was a really fun chat about games as diverse as Mario All-Stars, Dreams, Disco Elysium, Kentucky Route Zero, Hollow Knight, Death Stranding, The Last of Us Pt. II, Outer Wilds, and more. The next few shows will feature other guests talking through their year in games. Check out Radical Art Review online at http://www.radicalartreview.org. Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. You can also support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. As always, thanks for listening! (Music by Ben Babbitt, from Kentucky Route Zero)

This week’s episode is a roundup of some true show favourites that have recently had updates. Remedy’s Control has added much-needed difficulty options and two new episodes; No Man’s Sky has continued to grow and improve with the 2020 Desolation and Origins updates. I also share some thoughts on recent sale buys Gato Roboto, The Alto Collection, and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. You can come say hi and follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. I'm also very grateful to my listeners who support the show via Patreon, and in return get exclusive episodes, weekly sale recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community. Join the gang via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild for as little as $1 a month! And as always, thanks for listening.

This week's game is the third polished gem in the Supergiant Games roster. After escaping from Hades last episode, this time I traverse the Downside in the high-fantasy visual novel–RPG–sports game Pyre. It's an inventive and aesthetically stunning one-off game that's  like nothing else I've played. (There's a spoiler break half way through, so you can hear about it safely if you wanna play it yourself, or hear some late-game thoughts if you've played it already.) You can come say hi and follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. You can also support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. As always, thanks for listening!

This week’s show is about Hades, an all-action roguelike dungeon crawler set in the Greek underworld. It’s not my usual genre, but it's by the acclaimed Supergiant studio who made Transistor, Pyre and Bastion, which bodes well for any game. It took a bit of a journey to understand the mechanics, but it's a supremely entertaining game that earned my admiration by the end. It’s out now for Nintendo Switch, Windows and Mac. You can come say hi and follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild, and support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations, and an invite to our Discord community: http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. And as always, thanks for listening!

This week I played an extraordinary new action-adventure game called The Pathless by Giant Squid, the studio behind ABZU. With fluid gameplay, brilliant music and a fascinating game world, fans of Journey, Breath of the Wild, Shadow of the Colossus and Hyper Light Drifter will find something to love here. The game also touches interestingly on some contemporary themes, which are explored after the spoiler break. There’s a 2xVinyl version of the fantastic soundtrack by Austin Wintory available via I Am 8 Bit, along with a physical edition of the game. It’s also  available digitally for Playstation 4 & 5, Apple Arcade and PC.  You can also support the show on Patreon to get patron-exclusive episodes, game recommendations, and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. Also, you can share your thoughts on the game and follow the show via Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild.

This week's episode takes us to a far-flung Hebridean island to kick through the seaweed and hike over the hills of melancholic 'walking simulator' Dear Esther. Fans of more recent games like Gone Home and What Became of Edith Finch? will find something to enjoy here. Having finally finished one story strand of the mammoth Spartan saga Assassin's Creed Odyssey, it’s also time to revisit that game and dare to ask: can open world games be too big?  You can follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. You can also support the show on Patreon to get exclusive episodes, sale recommendations and an invite to the show’s Discord community via http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. And as always, thanks for listening!

The truth is out there... maybe? This episode I played two Halloweeny games: the bizarre fractured narrative of 45 minute indie-horror game Paratopic, and the surprisingly wholesome Speed Dating For Ghosts. Both are available for just a couple of units of your favourite currency on Steam, Itch and Nintendo Switch. You can follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch via http://linktr.ee/gaminginthewild. Also, whether you're a brand new arrival or a regular listener, you can support the show from just $1 a month at http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild. Thanks for listening, and happy halloween!