GeekNights Tuesdays: Gaming

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider PAX Unplugged 2024. It was a top tier PAX. In the news, the Rangers aren't doing well , Marvel Overwatch is exactly what it looks like , and Fortnite has to pay back the kids it ripped off . Related Links Forum Thread PAX Unplugged 2024 Discord Chat PAX Unplugged 2024 Bluesky Post PAX Unplugged 2024 Things of the Day Rym -  when the solo is so good the...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Obelus . A re-implementation of Dark Spires designed by Chris A. Williams , it's a quick abstract two-player game that's worth having in your bag. In the news, The Magic Commander Format , recently embroiled in capitalist drama , is getting a digital version , and the itch.io Creator Day sale is this Friday! Related Links Forum Thread Obelus (2024) Discord Chat Obe...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom . It's a Zelda game and you probably should play it. In the news, the big Nintendo leak isn't that exciting and Reiner Knizia’s SHOCKING Confession . Related Links Forum Thread The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Discord Chat The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Things of the Day Rym -  BART Speedrun Records Scott&...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Friends vs Friends . It's a fantastic quick arena-duel FPS with cards. It evokes the feeling of playing weird mods against your friends online in 1998. In the news, PAX Unplugged is December 6-8, the keynote speaker is Elizabeth Hargrave (of Wingspan fame), "hard mode" is a great way to frame handicapping in games, Microsoft lays off even more people , and S ony's...

Tonight on GeekNights, Rym and Emily review Slay the Princess . It's a graphic novel philosophical horror game in a sense. It'll give you a lot to chew on and it's definitely worth playing! From Black Tabby Games, you may recognize Abby Howard from Penny Arcade's Strip Search! Related Links Things of the Day Forum Thread Slay the Princess Discord Chat Slay the Princess

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Four Swords, which was released in 2002 on the GBA as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords . It's basically a tech demo/proof of concept for the real game released on the Gamecube which we reviewed back in 2009 . You can play it online with friends on the Switch, and you probably should. In the news, Game Informer is no more , Go AIs can be attac...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the games one can play at the beach. We've previously talked about the beach , and also Yard Games , so now we bring an intersection of the two. Also Beach Soccer and Terraforming Mars. In the news, the Nintendo Direct had some good stuff (especially the long awaited Metroid Prime 4 ) and you don't need an Xbox to play Xbox games . Related Links Forum Thread Beac...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of bosses in videogames. In the news, the Panthers win the Stanley Cup in the longest season in NHL history, Connor McDavid is awarded the Conn Smythe trophy but doesn't come out to claim it , and Founders of Reyvick might someday come. Related Links Forum Thread Bosses (in videogames) Discord Chat Bosses (in videogames) Things of the Day Rym -&n...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Animal Well . It's a beautiful and well made metroidvania. In the news, Civilization 7 is coming and Blades in the Dark is fantastic from session zero to terminal endgame. Related Links Forum Thread Animal Well (2024) Discord Chat Animal Well (2024) Things of the Day Rym -  Don't touch AM transmitter towers Scott -  Project Random

Tonight on GeekNights, in light of one of many Helldivers 2 kerfuffles , we consider yet another way that late capitalism is ruining the games industry: the stores make more money than the games. In the news, a Roblox game's attempt to fix its in-game economy causes a bunch of gamers to lose their minds , Sportsnet streams have freaky noises , and Animal Well is good. Related Links Forum Thread Do...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how to ruin your competitive card game. Scott shares the original Sins of CCG design. This is all in the context of Marvel SNAP . In the news, the Rangers sweep the Capitals , Square Enix reported extraordinary losses , Dave & Buster's introduces real money gambling , and Fallout games don't work on modern PCs. Related Links Forum Thread How to ruin your comp...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Klask . It's a well-designed extremely fun tabletop sport adjacent to but significantly distinct from Air Hockey . In the news, the Rangers are number one in the NHL , the Coyotes are moving to Salt Lake City , and Visions of Mana has quite the trailer . Also if you ever need to help out an injured pigeon in New York City , you have a lot of good options . Related...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Balatro (2024) . From LocalThunk and published by Playstack, it's a roguelike deckbuilder in the vein of Slay the Spire , but in Video Poker. It's good. In the news, PAX East was all right but it's still a ghost town when the expo hall closes, the Rangers are top of the NHL coming into the playoffs, and you may not have played Crime No Crime before (but you should)...

Tonight on GeekNights, having previously talked about Cheating we now consider Anti-Cheat. How do you prevent cheating? In the news, the Nintendo Direct is Feb 21 but the Switch 2 is likely 2025 , and Helldivers 2's ugly anti-cheat in a PvE game leaves a bad taste in our mouths. Related Links Forum Thread Anti-Cheat Discord Chat Anti-Cheat Things of the Day Rym -  Wario Addresses His Nat...

Tonight on GeekNights, we riff on some of the ideas we're exploring for our new talk for PAX East 2024: All Games are the Same Game . Turns out you can factorize games into other games. Also we're back after Rym was gone skiing for a week . In the news, the Logitech G PRO X wireless headset is all right, it turns out US presidents aren't immune to all laws , and Roblox has a universal translator ....

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the extremely good games we played at MAGFest 2024, which itself was possibly the best MAGFest that has ever happened to date. Particularly, the MAGFest Indie Videogame Showcase (MIVS) and a shout-out to Nothing Good Can Come of This . In the news, Palworld surged onto the scene with massive sales and weird controversies , tabletop game bootlegs are becoming a maj...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Whale Street . It is a solid concept, combining the stock/operating round structure of an 18xx game with poker hand mechanics, but it doesn't quite stick the landing on execution. In the news, Wizards of the Coast has an AI art problem , and Free to Play games like Overwatch and Marvel Snap have a new card/character power creep problem . PixelMeat is back. If you c...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Lethal Company from Zeekerss. Rym tried out that Zelda 2 remix . In the news, Nintendo killed the Wii U and 3DS servers early , and Valve banned people who deserved it in a fantastic way . Related Links Forum Thread Lethal Company (2023) Discord Chat Lethal Company (2023) Things of the Day Rym -  Disco Elysium | Pixel Animation | Петь в тишине Scott ...

Tonight on GeekNights we review Ahoy (2022) . In the news, kids want Robux for Christmas , ByteDance is restructuring Nuverse in a "retreat" from gaming, and Nintendo has to make an 18+ version of the N64 app . Related Links Forum Thread Ahoy (2022) Discord Chat Ahoy (2022) Things of the Day Rym -  2017 Ohio State Drum Major Tryouts Scott -  No-Bullshit Games

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Cobalt Core . It's a cross between Slay the Spire and FTL , taking the best aspects of both. It's also super cute. In the news, the Pickleball people are facing increasing drama , and it's good to "cheat" at Pokémon . We also make fun of AMD for a while. Related Links Forum Thread Cobalt Core Discord Chat Cobalt Core Things of the Day Rym -  AI Tom Scott...

Tonight on the 18th anniversary of the first episode of GeekNights , we review The Jackbox Party Pack 10 . It's got the streamlined TKO 2 and a trivia game that's like the ones we like . In the news, Rym keeps playing Overwatch , Super Mario Wonder is good fun, and Deltarune 3 and 4 will come out sooner than anticipated . Related Links Forum Thread The Jackbox Party Pack 10 Things of the Day Rym&n...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Counter-Strike 2 . We have been playing some form of Counter-Strike since 2000... We reviewed Counter-Strike in 2006 and Counter-Strike GO in 2012. In news that is as little as it is late, Unity backs down on much of their new monetization model, Epic lays off 16% of its staff , and Scott GeekBites Heretic's Fork . Related Links Forum Thread Counter-Strike 2 Things...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review and discuss PAX West 2023. The new venue is fantastic and it felt a lot like PAXes from the golden age of PAX. In the news, Scott suffered Airport Adventures yet made it to Chicaco , Steam (and our Steam accounts) are 20 years old , and the Unity game engine destroys itself with an actively hostile monetization model that is somehow worse than we expected from thei...

Tonight on GeekNights, having somehow never talked about Quake (except for Quake Live in 2009, we discuss Quake 2 and the Quake 2 Remaster . In the news, the Atari 7800 is back legit , Charles Martinet is moving on , and Marvel Snap is paying people to watch Twitch streams with .pngs in their app. Related Links Forum Thread Quake 2 Remastered Things of the Day Rym -  Intercontinental Bal...

Tonight on GeekNights, we review PitchCar (1995) . It's a flicking game. It's a sport. It's pretty fun. In the news, a livestreamer guy caused a riot in New York for which he is facing charges , Gen Con continues to live up to its reputation with a disaster over unmanaged Lorcana lines (remember Lorcana is the subject of a lawsuit from Upper Deck ) and some extremely identifiable nerds who stole $...