All My Best Friends Are Digital

We explore corrupt afterlife schemes with Grim Fandango and To the Moon! Where's a principled psychopomp when you need one? What We're Playing 00:59 Mark: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare, 2024) 05:25 Mark: Crypt Custodian (Kyle Thompson, 2024) 13:23 Caitlin: Infinity Nikki (Papergames, 2024) 22:15 GOOF: Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1998) and its Remaster (Double Fine, 2015) 36:18 Feature Game: To...

Green Hat Adventure Boy returns for Ocarina of Time, this time with 100% more horse. Mark continues to get his Rogue-lite on with Ravenswatch. What We're Playing 01:15 Caitlin: Factorio (Wube Software, 2020) 10:55 Mark: Dead Cells (Evil Empire and Motion Twin, 2018) 19:30 GOOF: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Nintendo EAD, 1998) 35:27 Feature Game: Ravenswatch (Passtech, 2024) SHOUT 52:5...

We wade into a genuine retro gaming controversy. Two Aladdins enter, one Aladdin leaves! Caitlin is thrown into the deep end for her first roguelike Caves of Qud, and in a sad continuation of recent AMDFAD trends, the tutorial is lacking. What We're Playing 01:20 Mark: Ruiner (Reikon, 2017) 09:26 Caitlin: Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop (Beard Envy, 2024) 21:30 GOOF: Aladdin (Virgin Interactive, 1993) an...

Heavy questions of metaphysics and cosmology abound. Before Your Eyes is about the afterlife, Goodboy Galaxy questions whether a dog can pet itself, and Wing Commander: Privateer might be one of the circles of Hell. What We're Playing 03:15 Caitlin: Helldivers II (Arrowhead, 2024) 06:01 Caitlin: Luma Island (Feel Free Games, 2024) 07:58 Mark: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare, 2024) 09:25 Mark: P...

Caitlin's Final Fantasy history tour continues! We then turn to Mark's childhood Disney game, The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse. Slander may ensue. We finally test the limits of procedural generation with Wildermyth, a tactical RPG that promises satisfying randomly-generated narrative. What We're Playing 00:55 Mark: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Ubisoft Montreal, 2003) 10:33 Caitlin:...

Shockers abound this week. The World Ends with You is not the title of a Bond movie, it's a great DS game and a mediocre Switch game--and Pentiment is not just a chance to show off your history minor, it's also a murder mystery. What We're Playing 01:02 Caitlin: Cats Hidden in Germany, Italy, and China (Travellin Cats, 2023-2024 04:28 Caitlin: Luma Island (Feel Free Games, 2024) 04:47 Caitlin: Ins...

We play Sifu, the very daunting beat-em-up game, as well as the beloved Beyond Good and Evil. Not only did Sifu make Caitlin play a tutorial, it was perhaps the greatest disservice imaginable to a superb game. One could say the same about Beyond Good and Evil with respect to Friedrich Nietzsche, but he doesn't deserve any better. What We're Playing 00:41 Mark: Karate Survivor (Alawar, 2024) 10:08...

More Dragon Age! Caitlin and Mark have very different takeaways from The Veilguard. We also stress the difference between dwarves and vikings in The Last Vikings, another pre-WoW Blizzard offering. What We're Playing 01:10 Caitlin: A Tower Full of Cats, and An Arcade Full of Cats (Devcats, 2022-2024) 05:21 Mark: Persona 5 Tactika (P-Studio, 2023) 10:36 Mark: Metal Slug Tactics (Leikir Studio, 2024...

Thank goodness you're here to join us as we discuss Thank Goodness You're Here! It's all cats and meat pies this week, though thankfully not in combination. What We're Playing 02:01 Caitlin: A Building Full of Cats, A Tower Full of Cats, and A Castle Full of Cats (Devcats, 2022-2024) 14:53 Mark: Destiny 2 (Bungie, 2017) 27:58 GOOF: Road Rash (Electronic Arts, 1991) 38:05 Feature Game: Thank Goodne...

Caitlin has made her enthusiasm for cats and horses well-known, but let it not be forgotten that she is fond of all manner of other animals as well. It's all kinds of fauna this week, as we revisit The Lion King and look at indie darling Animal Well. What We're Playing 01:14 Caitlin: Powerwash Simulator (FuturLab, 2022) 11:20 Mark: Inscyption (Daniel Mullins Games, 2021) 13:46 Mark: PortMaster, es...

It's Halloween here at AMBFAD, and so we are going to discuss some horror games! The retro run-and-gun Zombies Ate My Neighbors hearkens back to a halcyon period of LucasArts, and Still Wakes the Deep will hit you right in the feels.   What We're Playing 01:05 Caitlin: Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred (Blizzard Entertainment, 2024) 03:51 Caitlin: Rabbit and Steel (mino_dev, 2024) 08:12 Mark: rRootage (A...

Caitlin has no experience with the Persona formula, whereas Mark is a longtime Persona stan--so we have you covered for Metaphor: ReFantazio. Caitlin's blood vendetta against tutorials reaches the game early Blizzard game Blackthorne, and no NPCs will survive her determination to learn as she goes. What We're Playing 01:08 Mark: Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games, 2021) 13:07 Caitlin: Neko Atsume 2...

It's a theme week here at AMBFAD, and we're doing grimy science fiction. From beneath the ground in Fallout to beyond the stars with the Void Bastards, we have you covered--with apologies for the salty language. What We're Playing 01:14 Mark: Rabbit and Steel (mino_dev, 2024) 02:23 Mark: Street Fighter 6 (Capcom, 2023) 12:20 Caitlin: Core Keeper (Pugstorm, 2024) 20:34 GOOF: Fallout (Interplay, 199...

Mark continues Caitlin's forced education on the Neo Geo with Shock Troopers, an underappreciated run and gun. They then discuss Death and Taxes, a narrative game with some strange framing choices. WE INTERRUPT YOUR EPISODE NOTES WITH URGENT HORSE NEWS: A horse game is incoming!  What We're Playing 01:01 Caitlin: Fire Emblem: Three Houses 07:51 Caitlin: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom 09:40...

One ought never to overlook a chance to extol the virtues of Terry Bogard, so we discuss the classic Garou: Mark of the Wolves. In anticipation of the upcoming Veilguard, we touch on all the main Dragon Age games released thus far. What We're Playing 00:50 Mark: Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments, 2024) 02:02 Mark: Anomaly Agent (Phew Phew, 2024) 10:33 Caitlin: Risk of Rain 2 (Hopoo...

We finally show Nintendo some love in the form of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and get blown away (in many ways) by Tactical Breach Wizards. What We're Playing 01:02 Caitlin: Rabbit and Steel (mino_dev, 2024) 08:45 Mark: The Ninja Warriors (Natsume, 1994) 13:24 GOOF: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Flagship and Capcom, 2004) TechDweeb's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TechDw...

All shooting, all the time! Both Rabbit and Steel and Undertale leverage shoot-em-up elements in novel ways, and they form a natural set with the punishing Ikaruga. What We're Playing 00:57 Caitlin: Core Keeper (Pugstorm, 2024) 08:19 Mark: Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems, 2019) 13:49 Mark: Rabbit and Steel (mino_dev, 2024) 18:00 Caitlin: Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm (Gearbox...

Sometimes the only way to show that you love is to complain and nitpick, and that's exactly what Caitlin and Mark do with Fire Emblem--a game they both enjoy but think is sometimes borderline absurd.  What We're Playing 01:04 Mark: Tactical Breach Wizards (Suspicious Developments, 2024) 08:47 Caitlin: Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm (Gearbox, 2024) 13:14 GOOF: Metroid (R&D Team 1 and Intellig...

Caitlin reciprocates this week by trying ICO, one of Mark's all-time favourites. They also both explore the coming-of-age story I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, in which you play as... well, let's not undermine the excellent title, shall we? What We're Playing 00:53 Caitlin: Rabbit and Steel (mino_dev, 2024) 08:45 Mark: Valkyrie Profile (tri-Ace, 1999) 15:11 GOOF: ICO (Team ICO, 2001) 29:54 Feature Ga...

Caitlin said Valkyrie Profile was one of her top 10 games of all time, so let's take a deeper look! Mark reciprocates by listing his own top 10. What We're Playing 00:41 Mark: Earth Defense Force 4.1 (Sandlot, 2016) 11:15 Caitlin: Flock (Hollow Ponds and Richard Hogg, 2024) 17:24 GOOF: Valkyrie Profile (tri-Ace, 1999) 35:35 Mark's Top 10 Games of All Time 36:07 Honourable Mentions Destiny/Destiny...

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a strange and unexpected offering, an odd delight amongs a sea of derivative games. Caitlin then reveals her gaming autobiography, her top games of all time. What We're Playing 02:03 Caitlin: Slay the Spire (Mega Crit, 2019) 06:00 Mark: Pokémon Pinball (HAL Laboratory, 1999) Tech Dweeb's 10 Must Play Retro Pinball Games:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2X1tC9...

Quintet released some bangers on the SNES: ActRaiser, Soul Blazer, and Illusion of Gaia. How does their last one--Terranigma--measure up? And how much chill do you want in your journalism? Or, for that matter, your video games? Caitlin and Mark talk about Times & Galaxy. What We're Playing 01:04 Mark: TMNT: Splintered Fate (Super Evil Megacorp, 2024) 07:30 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Sq...

If you had told us that we would be loving speedrunning in a first-person platformer, i.e. Neon White, we would not have believed you. If you had told us that Caitlin would still be knee-deep in Unicorn Overlord and underimpressed by one of Mark's all-time favourites, we would have easily believed you.  What We're Playing 03:19 Caitlin: Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware, 2024) 04:48 Mark: Journey to t...

Mark has many questions about many things Final Fantasy, and Caitlin is well-equipped to oblige--and Mark is able to recipocrate with a capsule biography of Firebrand, aka Red Arremer. The feature game is Firework, a horror/mystery story from China. Several things are mispronounced. What We're Playing 00:46 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024) 11:45 SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (...

We dip our toes into mobile games this week with a Pokémon sleep tracker and the latest from MiHoYo. The Quintet appreciation continues with Illusion of Gaia, and we check out Unicorn Overlord with some mixed results. What We're Playing 01:35 Caitlin: Pokémon Sleep (Select Button, 2023) 07:01 Zenless Zone Zero (MiHoYo, 2024) 16:57 GOOF: Illusion of Gaia (Quintet, 1994) 27:47 Feature Game: Unicorn...