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New Years Resolutions
0 Playsin 10 hours
As 2026 looms, Ben & Jess talk about what they want to do adventure gaming-wise in the coming year.
Quest Quest podcast is Ben Vigeant and Jess Morrissette.
Editing by Ben Vigeant
Show art by Kevin "WilcoWeb" Wallace
Watch us on Twitch!
Ben: https://www.twitch.tv/ps_garak
Jess: https://www.twitch.tv/decafjedi
Give us a review, they help people find this show! Unless you hated it, in which case, don't.
Talk with us on Discord!
https://discord.gg/ve9fqjgPp2
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Transcript
Adventure Game Podcast Challenge
00:00:32
Speaker
It the podcast that you're familiar with.
00:00:49
Speaker
The Adventure Game Podcast? I was trying to see how long I could do that. And also how long, you know, is a real challenge to the listener.
00:01:00
Speaker
How long will you listen? We don't want people who, you know, are just like going to listen to whatever. We want to make it challenging for our listeners. Yeah. I mean, at some level we we are, we are fighting you at the end of however long this podcast lasts. We're determined to win.
00:01:19
Speaker
Yeah. And part of that is just auditorily beating you into submission from the minute it begins. Yeah.
Casual Podcast Atmosphere
00:01:25
Speaker
Yeah. We're we we've we've got a a dozen dozen listeners and and the target is by the time that we release the final episode that no one listens to it.
00:01:35
Speaker
Yes. but Even you aren't listening to it to edit like you're just like good enough. I just put it all in there. Yeah. Yeah. Like it it includes us like kind of ah like our little bit of chat before we start like you know formally starting the podcast includes me counting down includes a syncing up our audio.
00:01:53
Speaker
and All the times that either one of us quits during the course of the average episode. Just like, yeah I'm just sick of adventure games. I can't do this anymore. ah hate this shit. Yeah.
00:02:04
Speaker
I don't play any of these games. I'm just reading Wikipedia articles. Just having chat GPT summarize Google Gemini's summary of a Wikipedia article for me. I'm just reading that aloud.
00:02:17
Speaker
There was, uh, there was a, a, a comedy show here, many years ago. they used to do, uh, they used to do a bit where they would ah like kind of Google translate something like a phrase into like a foreign language. And then they would Google translate it back from that language back to English. And then, you know, like it would be like, all right, so what do you think that means? Because it would be fucked up in that process. Yeah.
00:02:50
Speaker
I have a similar game I like to play. It's called creating my students essays. Yeah. Oh, got him.
Boxing Day Reflections
00:03:03
Speaker
What? Oh, no. Your students, they were listening. Oh, no. Oh, no. And they're boo birds. A bunch of boo birds. I've known it since the day I met them.
00:03:13
Speaker
You could just tell it was lurking inside them. The capacity to be a boo bird. We're recording today. This is Boxing Day. This is the day after Christmas. Christmas.
00:03:26
Speaker
Did you have a good Christmas, Jess? Ben, I had a very merry Christmas. It was it was it
Christmas Traditions Discussion
00:03:34
Speaker
was wonderful. my My family, my mom and dad came to visit. we We did all of our traditional Christmas activities. Did you know that every year my family and I watch the Chevy Chase film National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation together?
00:03:50
Speaker
I didn't know that. That's interesting. i've never I've never seen that. I have seen all of the other vacation films, but I've never seen Christmas Vacation. You should check it out. It's actually like Vegas and I've seen Christmas Vacation 2. Oh, with Cousin Eddie? With Cousin Eddie on the island.
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah. i've met And I've seen the original Vacation, of course, and the the reboot. with Ed head Helms. I guess, it is it a reboot if it's just, if it if it's still in the same timeline? I guess not, right? Yeah.
00:04:24
Speaker
and No, I mean, it's more like a re-launch, like, continuation. um i mean, it's clearly in the same universe. Like, a lot of the lore is still, but i don't want to talk about that. didn't really work out for Ed Helms, did they? They, they you know, like, and and I mean, he made enough money off of being in those three hangover movies. It's fine.
00:04:46
Speaker
Like, ah but, like, there was, like, he had a a real hot streak, and then and then what? Yeah. Yeah, no, he did, you know, and and it's it's too bad because I enjoy some Ed Hounds. I wonder, part of me wonders, and this is my personal theory, I don't know how plugged into the office you were, but in those later seasons, they made his character Andy so unlikable and deplorable.
00:05:16
Speaker
i' almost wonder if that stunted his career a little bit. yeah I didn't I kind of fell off kind of late ah late the office and I'm looking at his Wikipedia page and I will know doesn't seem like he's been
Ed Helms Career Speculation
00:05:33
Speaker
that busy since really 2020. Do you think we could get him on the show?
00:05:37
Speaker
I think we could get him on the show. Like he's been, he's, he's had stuff. He's been in like a couple movies and he's in a ah movie coming out, uh, in 26 called the stunt driver, which would be his first since 2023. So it's like, you know, it, I would love to talk about like Manhunter two with Ed Helms.
00:06:01
Speaker
man Oh, right. Yeah. I was just like the, uh, the, the Michael Mann movie. Did they make a sequel? Let me rephrase that. Manhunter to San Francisco. Oh, yess yeah its yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah he would be good in anation the the vacation reboot from yeah ten years ago i did i did It what I recall to be one funny bit.
00:06:28
Speaker
um It has, they stopped to go on like a big whitewater rafting trip. And Charlie Day is their rafting guide on this journey.
00:06:39
Speaker
And right before the voyage begins, he is broken up with by his girlfriend or fiance or, or whatever. And enters into this whitewater rafting trip ah in in sort of a suicidal mode and is happy to endanger the Griswold family in the process. so
Movie Sequels and Success
00:06:59
Speaker
that was kind of fun. You know, it was a good gag of just like, why have you had a whitewater raft instructor who didn't care what happened to you?
00:07:06
Speaker
um but That's literally the only thing I remember about the movie. and I think I've seen it twice. it It made a lot, like, it it made on 31 budget. It made 107. Wow.
00:07:18
Speaker
So. And never spoken of again. Yeah, like, it it is it is a movie that was just, like, made, and then, like, everyone was like, we're going to see this. Yeah. But we're not going to like it.
00:07:30
Speaker
and It's like that horrible bosses movie. Didn't that make a ton of money with they make sequels? yeah I think there may have been sequels to that. horrible bot Yeah, there's a Horrible Bosses 2. Yeah. It's horrible. Well, Horrible Bosses is 30. That made twice as much as 35. Wow. To 209.
00:07:47
Speaker
Wow. So, yeah, that of course, as a sequel. And then eventually they spun it off to Horrible Boss
Gaming Memorabilia Envy
00:07:53
Speaker
Baby. And that's really where it took off. I want to know that the the guy and there's a little connective tissue here. The guy, one of the the credited screenwriters.
00:08:04
Speaker
of horrible bosses uh uh was uh actually two of them uh uh also wrote and directed vacation so there you go this makes sense because daly the sam weir from freaks yes ah she who also did the dungeons and dragons movie which people seem to like it was fantastic you haven't seen that No, and that doesn't seem like a... That does not seem like something I would enjoy. That doesn't seem like something I'd enjoy.
00:08:42
Speaker
i think you might enjoy It it just doesn't seem like something. It's very enjoyable. It's Hugh Grant. Does it have Ed Helms? Yes. He's uncredited. Well, then I'm in Yeah, he's...
00:08:57
Speaker
I do feel like it makes sense that the same people who have worked on those, because that's like that post-Apatel wave of Hollywood comedies before Hollywood just decided we'll never make a comedy again.
00:09:08
Speaker
Yeah, and and why should they? Yeah, it was a mistake. Well, yeah, but you know what? You're part of the problem, Jess, because you still haven't seen The Naked Gun. I have. Oh, you did? I saw that in theaters, like opening weekend. Who is it that I was talking to? We talked about this on here.
00:09:22
Speaker
Who is it that i was talking about? it was like, oh, I got to see. I got to see. Like, oh, I'm so excited. And they never saw it. Yeah. No, Ben, I was there. I made my daughter. I was there too. It was pretty good. Yeah.
00:09:33
Speaker
Anyway, sorry for that brain fart there. Wow. you got You got some cool adventure game stuff for, for, uh, yeah, I've been posting this on the discord and social media and you, and you shared on your stream last night as well. but Yeah. One thing that I am deeply envious over.
00:09:50
Speaker
Okay, I'm curious which of these it is. and I think I think you know what it is. Well, I got three things um that I love all dearly. um I've been big box collecting now for a couple of years and my Sierra collection continues to grow and grow. ah My wife got me a copy of the first edition of the King's Quest Companion, the the novelization slash walkthrough the series, which that was a big surprise. I didn't even know she was aware that he's quest companion existed. hmm. much less that I didn't have it if it did. So I was very excited for that.
00:10:22
Speaker
My mom got me a factory sealed copy of Hoyle's Book of Games, Volume 1. That's just interesting. That's super interesting. i love it. It's like that's I can't believe there's a sealed copy of it floating around out there. But I'm guessing the one Ben that you're referring to is my wife also got me a a boxed copy of Quest for Glory 1 VGA. Yes.
00:10:47
Speaker
you know and it's it's gorgeous beautiful box i think it is easily like top five sierra boxes maybe look in that white one on ebay right now and if i hadn't just spent ah an enormous amount of christmas money on you know gifts and whatnot yeah i would probably pull yeah you know what i shouldn't have done it I would have pulled the trigger. There is someone, Jess, I'm looking at eBay. This is insane.
00:11:17
Speaker
There is someone selling okay a ah ah box of Quest for Glory, Shadows of Darkness. the fourth Okay, don't tell me. Don't tell me.
00:11:29
Speaker
Okay, I am going to say $190. No.
00:11:41
Speaker
$299. No. no Higher? Higher. Much higher. $499. Higher. Is this sealed? ah Let's see. So it's in, it is in a seal.
00:11:58
Speaker
I don't know if it, like, they they have it packaged in in something. It looks sealed, but there's part of me that's like, This could have, they they they they could have just sealed it. you know I mean, do you know how much a shrink wrapper costs? Like, yeah you know, it's yeah how much? Why are we talking, Ben?
00:12:18
Speaker
This person is selling. You know, I'm going to put this in the chat. I want to have your your live reaction to to the clip. So click on this and like and look like this. This isn't a virus, is it? Yeah, it's a virus, but click on it. okay Holy shit.
00:12:35
Speaker
Okay, now... And this has been like rated by VG greater.com and slab. So it's like how people slab comic books in those, uh, stupid in those blocks. And it's rated 85. We're, we're, we're, we're, yeah. sorry. 9,000 human dollars.
The Value of Game Collections
00:12:54
Speaker
Nine. thousand human dollars nine thousand dollars American yes that is i mean it looks beautiful it's like a beautiful coffee 1555 for mail they're not even throwing in the mail that is unbelievable here's what's throwing me Ben now um I don't want to we won't name the seller here because I don't want them to sue me because they're going to pretty soon have nine thousand dollars to hire a lawyer with um
00:13:25
Speaker
I'm looking at this. It's, it's again, it's in, it's like in the, in the case it's sealed. It's those, it's been officially graded with a hologram seal of authenticity and everything else. so Sorry. This is as official as it gets. So, I mean,
00:13:40
Speaker
It's inaccessible. You can't take it out without breaking that seal. And now it's no longer officially graded. But what I'm seeing is it looks like it's shrink wrapped inside of this box. Cause if you'll look above the queue and quest for glory, you can see the little hole in the shrink wrap that was there for you to like begin to tear the shrink wrap open. Right. Right.
00:14:00
Speaker
Oh yeah. There it is. So it is shrink wrapped in there, but what I find very suspicious It's shrink wrapped, but I don't see any of the system requirements stickers or anything on the shrink wrap or the box. No, no, no, no. The system requirements are, you can see it on the side.
00:14:21
Speaker
there go they're on the side. Okay. I'll take it back. Okay. It's not one the ones that wraps around. This is the discette version. So it's extra glitchy. Why would you buy this? Yeah. Once you pop that open, you'll be like good luck finishing it. Um,
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, this isn't going to work. Yeah. $9,000. No fucking way. They've sold this game. Like this isn't a rare game. Like, It's rare in the Sierra catalog. Like, Ben, you should search for it and see, like, the prices this thing is running for in general.
00:14:57
Speaker
Because it is surprisingly pricey game out of the Sierra catalog. Much more so. It's one of the, well, it's the only Quest for Glory game I don't have because of this. Like, there is a copy that looks like someone sat on it.
00:15:11
Speaker
stood up and said, Oh no, I sat on my copy of quest for glory shadows of darkness and then sat on it six more times. That's a hundred and fifty one. I'm looking for 60. I'm looking at one for 60, but that looks pretty well sat on.
00:15:26
Speaker
Oh man, this is like, yeah, like it looks like it is outrageously priced among Sierra games. But then here's like, here's a sealed copy of it in the white box. I like the white box version of this 275, which is about what this tends to go for.
00:15:42
Speaker
Now, what I really love is people who list this and like, here's one for 1995. And you think you said it's a picture of the box and everything, but it's actually just a one click windows install of quest for glory for, which I assume means it's just someone's Gog. Yeah. I was going to say it's probably, yeah, they just put Gog on a, on a, you know, on a thumb drive.
00:16:04
Speaker
Yeah. You aren't tricking me. All right. Here's what want. I found the one for you. Yeah. Let me just send you this link because I think that will be the one. Very good.
00:16:14
Speaker
If you just want to go ahead and get your collection like kickstarted. And I'm going to say this is actually a decent deal. I'm not sending this as like a, as a gag. This, this one I just sent you. Ooh.
00:16:31
Speaker
Now you see that. is actually, oh wait, no, I take it back. That's a strategy guide, not the actual game. Well, was yeah, it comes with a game and it's, this is a copy of Quest for Glory 1, the VGA remake that comes with the authorized strategy guide for, now I will note, it's for, no, it's for the entire series. root for But it is funny because it does seem like it just comes with it. They threw in the hint book for Quest for Glory 4. Yeah.
00:17:01
Speaker
yeah You should get into big bucks collecting, then. It's a great. I've been thinking about it. I've also been thinking about it because... um My, like, ah i i you know, you I've been living in this this brand new home for ah a little, like, i don't know, eight, nine months now.
00:17:27
Speaker
And ah I've become friends with some of my neighbors. And then so going over to, you know, somebody who has a very similar layout place and then walking back into mine I'm like, wow, this does not look as lived in, which makes sense, right?
00:17:42
Speaker
Yeah. and But like, I'm just kind of looking, I'm like, there's just not enough stuff here. And their place is full of big box games. and Yeah. and And I'm envious of my neighbors' is big box games. You should covet your neighbor's possessions. That's never a bad thing. Yeah, yeah um So Jess, what I got for for Christmas, one thing that I got was I got the board game version of uh the the computer card game slay the spire oh which i'm intrigued by because it's like there's part of me that is very skeptical of ah a like adaptation of a computer card game because i'm kind of like that's why i have it on the computer
00:18:29
Speaker
You know, so I don't have to do all this setup and shit. That checks out. But on the other hand, I was looking at like Board Game Geek, which is the the the board game, you know, website of record. And people are nuts about ah Slay the Spire.
00:18:50
Speaker
It is like on their like list of the most popular games. Wow. um And like people just adore this. So I'm very intrigued by ah the the board, like the the actual card version.
00:19:09
Speaker
And I wonder, like I didn't even look too much at it, but it's like, ah like, is there, is it just a straight up,
00:19:24
Speaker
Adept, like, does it just play like the version that I play on my phone and on my computer? Is it like, do they take some liberties? Like, what is it? I'm intrigued. So I have that.
00:19:36
Speaker
I also got a cast iron griddle to put on my my gas range. There you go. I just gave that a and just gave that an inaugural...
00:19:47
Speaker
ride this morning. Why'd you griddle up? I made some French toast. I dried out and some some bread that I had and then ah made some French toast.
00:19:57
Speaker
Yes. Best French toast I've ever made. Wow. Nice and nice and crispy. hmm. And in sweet on the outside. And then you know, like, you know kind of soft and eggy and custardy right in the middle. is one Perfect.
00:20:13
Speaker
So, ah I'm looking for it. I'm also, you know, going to have to make burgers on it. Yeah. was going say steak on a good cast iron, uh, griddle.
00:20:24
Speaker
Pretty, uh, I made, I made steaks Christmas Eve. I mean make made, I made steaks Christmas Eve. There's a nice, ah butcher around the way from me, uh, that I'd been interested in checking out. And as it turned out, when I got in there, they had a sale on boneless ribeye. So was perfect.
00:20:41
Speaker
So I got my sous vide out, uh, got it to, got the, the steaks to media, uh, medium rare, uh, then, uh, uh, seared them to give them a nice little, you know, and then, uh, and wonderful, wonderful.
00:21:00
Speaker
We had lamb for Christmas day, uh, some lamb shanks and, uh, Oh, they were good. we We've been doing them this way for a few years where we make almost like what would be ah a red wine sauce to slow cook them in.
00:21:16
Speaker
Instead of red wine, we use pomegranate juice. So it gives it a slightly sweeter taste. And then we add some curry and cumin and rosemary and a bunch of other spices into that mix and then cook it for several hours until it's delicious fall off the bone lamb shank. Oh, it was wonderful. You know, so last night, ah so I only planned as far as to make a nice meal for for Christmas Eve. And then I was empty handed on Christmas
Christmas Dining Dilemma
00:21:47
Speaker
Day. And so I was just like, we'll just order some Chinese and i drop it off.
00:21:52
Speaker
And a bunch of Chinese places were closed last night on Christmas night. And i was just like, what the fuck is going on? Famously, you're open on Christmas. like your deal. Like, it's a major plot point in the film A Christmas Story, right? You're supposed to be open for Christmas dinner.
00:22:12
Speaker
this is This is an agreement. It's a social contract. so i want orange chicken right And know what? All the stores should be open on Christmas Day, too, because what if I want to go shopping?
00:22:25
Speaker
I don't like how if I want to go the mall, it's just shut down. ah well give me Give me one good reason why those stores shouldn't be open.
00:22:37
Speaker
Well, speaking about openings, what have you been playing? That was a great opening to talk about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What have you been playing? Ben, I don't think I've talked about this before. Please interrupt me if I have.
00:22:50
Speaker
What?
00:22:53
Speaker
I have spent a lot of time the last few weeks because we've been having little holiday parties, people over. We've had family in that town. And because we've been looking for something to entertain us, um I have spent a lot of time the last few weeks playing Jack Cox Party Pack 11. Have I talked about 11 here? I think we talked about it in our best of the year.
00:23:17
Speaker
We did, dang it. But let's talk about how you've been playing it with your family. Yeah, no, I mean... I think it's Jackbox Party Packs Go. It's a banger.
00:23:30
Speaker
um Just been having a lot of fun, especially, i mean, we did talk about this extensively now that i think about You know what? Cancel all that, Ben. New game I've been playing. All right.
00:23:41
Speaker
Everybody go play Jackbox Party Packs Go. Should we just start this over? It's really, good. It's... Probably their best since what? I don't know, seven? Probably so. I think we've said all this before. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, so we have. All right, all right. Okay, I've also been playing Marvel Cosmic Invasion.
00:23:57
Speaker
Do you know this game at all? No.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion Review
00:24:00
Speaker
Okay, just came out a few weeks ago. It is side-scrolling beat-em-up, a Streets of Rage TMNT type game that just came out with with all your favorite Marvel characters. It's an eclectic lineup. What's it called again? Marvel Cosmic Invasion. Cosmic, all right, yeah, here, let me let me pull this up. So this is, it's a beat-em-up.
00:24:27
Speaker
Yeah, a Puma. It's got some really charming pixel graphics. It's got that X-Men arcade kind of look. Yeah, kind of got that going on for it.
00:24:38
Speaker
But it's really fun. It's a good side-scrolling beat-em-up. It has lots of little Easter eggs and obscure characters and references to things that probably nobody should recognize. But of course, as comic book nerds, we all do from one random issue of like West Coast Avengers that came out 1986 something.
00:25:01
Speaker
Uh, but it's, uh, it's lot of fun. You know, I think like a lot of- So they made, Colonel Shredder's Revenge. It's the same people.
00:25:11
Speaker
and I think it was awesome. Yeah, and it is very much that same DNA. I mean, it is, uh, yeah, once you play a few men, seven, you won't be surprised that it's the, uh, it's the same folks. But, um,
00:25:25
Speaker
Yeah, it's like a lot of these games, which is like very fun. It has cool team up moves, some things like that. It has lots of character in the animations, which is something the Shredder's Revenge game also yep i had a lot of good stuff.
00:25:40
Speaker
It is always challenging. And I think this is something you spoke about recently for this genre to exist in a quarterless world. Like when you realize that when you're no longer limited simply by how many quarters are in your pocket, your ability to have power through a game like this in, you know, one sitting is quite a bit more substantial, but they've added in different modes, a story mode, more of like a straight up arcade mode and Some things of that sort that... And I think an unlockable character, too, that makes it up enough that gives you a chance to play it. It's a great little
Modern Beat-em-up Challenges
00:26:16
Speaker
game.
00:26:16
Speaker
I recommend it to anyone.
00:26:27
Speaker
That had... um uh local co-op but it also had i think actually you didn't even need local i think it just had co-op like you know like four player does this have that i would assume i think it does i haven't i've only played single player mode but that was great yeah that was so much fun i you know It's tricky to make a beat-em-up.
00:26:56
Speaker
Like there's this game, like I think it's called Epsilon. Have you heard of this? No. Epsilon. And it seems to be very popular. People seem to enjoy it. And apparently, like the the pitch of it is, they made a Hades, except it's a beat-em-up.
00:27:18
Speaker
Oh. So maybe you'd like this. might. No, that sounds like you might be at my alley. And so it's it's one of those things where, like, I think about, like, you know, and it's it's on it's got a little bit of a discount right now for the Steam sale.
00:27:35
Speaker
And so, like, I've been looking at it, and I'm like, ooh, maybe. then I'm like, I don't know I enjoy beat-em-ups enough.
00:27:48
Speaker
And Shredder's Revenge I enjoyed. I liked. But like it was like I played it through and then I played it with some friends and I was like, that's pretty good.
00:28:00
Speaker
And then I was just like, all right, that's about as much of a beat-em-up. Do you enjoy it? like Especially because, like, on that point of, like, the quarter stuff, like, especially in, like, older ones, they were built for that kind of attrition. Not to say that you can't beat them. That's right. Yeah, if you just sit down and continue endlessly on Konami's X-Men, it's like, oh, this is, like, a 40-minute long game. Right.
00:28:22
Speaker
Yeah. But, I mean, I'm sort of the same way. Like, I need these things at discount. I need these to be on some sort of, you know, plan I subscribe to or something like that. It would be hard for me to pay, like,
00:28:37
Speaker
a $40 entry fee to play the average beat-em-up because I'm probably going to play it through once. If I like it, I'll probably play it to the finish. If I don't, I'll be distracted with it for an hour or two and maybe never revisit it.
00:28:49
Speaker
I enjoy them as I play them, but yeah, they're not something I return to. like got A few years back, I guess it's been about five or six years now, I really enjoyed Streets of Rage 4 and kind of played through it in the course of two or three settings and then never looked at it again.
00:29:05
Speaker
And it was fine because I think at the time it was probably on Xbox Game Pass, which is how I ended up playing it. But yeah, no, I mean, it's... But this one's a lot of fun. I mean, again, for me, I'm of an easy mark for a game like this because I love Marvel stuff. And I mean, it's it's very much comic book Marvel-y rather than cinematic universe Marvel-y.
00:29:28
Speaker
And... It has She-Hulk. Yeah, if you have, like, affection for it, like, looking at how... like nice, like, um, uh, whatchamacallit, how nice, uh, Shredder's Revenge was, like, I would have to assume that they would, uh, like, you know, treat this with the same care.
00:29:51
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting to me, like, I kind of feel too that the people who made it clearly have some affection for previous Marvel games. Like, you'll see animations, the ones i really noticed probably just because they're the characters that appeared maybe more frequently than anyone else.
00:30:08
Speaker
Some of the animations for Spider-Man and Wolverine are very much callbacks to their appearances in maybe the Marvel vs. Capcom games or you know even like Wolverine's appearance in the Konami X-Men game. You can tell that they're like doing little homages in some of their flourishes and idol poses and things like that to games that they' have come before. So it's very much...
00:30:33
Speaker
I mean, it feels like a game by nerds for nerds in ah in a really fun way. Yeah. that's what I've been playing. Not Jackbox 11. What have you been playing, Ben? I've been playing. So I picked a whole bunch of games up during the scheme sale here.
00:30:51
Speaker
A bunch of interesting little things. And I might have just talked myself into getting up so long. We'll see. But I picked up this game that, like, especially it's not too expensive,
00:31:07
Speaker
I'll definitely pick up something that just feels like an aesthetics pull on Steam. gos like It's like, yeah, this doesn't cost that much.
00:31:19
Speaker
Yeah. The aesthetics of it. and so There's this game. It's an early access right now. It's called He is Coming. And the the screenshots pull that up, Jess. He is coming.
00:31:31
Speaker
And, like, you know, it kind of gives... a kind of, a I would say, like ah like, I don't know what, like, Ultima 4, like, overmap look, right? Yes, i would go with that, yeah.
00:31:47
Speaker
Like, it gives us this, you know, like, you know, 8-bit or something computer RPG map. And what it is, is it's just a roguelite RPG autobattler where it's just like, you just kind of wander around, you pick up loot, walk into you ah monsters, and then it just automatically fights them based off of like the loot that you've picked up.
00:32:16
Speaker
Oh, interesting. And it is, it's so nice and light. know, a lot going on in it. And you want to know what? That's perfectly fine. Like i'm I'm enjoying, and I assume that, you know, as as this is an early access, there will probably be like, you know, different biomes, more interesting loot, blah, blah, blah. Like right now, I'm just kind of like, I like this...
Spotlight on Indie Games
00:32:42
Speaker
early PC game RPG aesthetic. I like that it's just this very lightweight
00:32:52
Speaker
game that doesn't ask for a game. It's just a supremely basic dungeon crawler, auto-gattler.
00:33:03
Speaker
And you know, sometimes it's just what you want. That's all you need. That's all you need. You know, I am absolutely a mark for, you know, just a very, like a, like kind of a basic kind of game like this that is just kind of entertaining in short little moments like this.
00:33:30
Speaker
And so, and it delivers on that, that grab you know, what it makes me think of is, do you ever play Luke Hero? No, loop hero is great.
00:33:41
Speaker
Loop hero is a lot of fun. It is also an auto battler where you pick up a bunch of loot. It's kind of like loop hero without the loop. If whoever's listening to this is like, oh, I get it.
00:33:53
Speaker
It's loop hero without loop. Finally. I've been, I've been waiting for loop hero without those pesky loops. I see. I've been looking for something without the hero.
00:34:06
Speaker
Oh, well, ah how about Luke? No. Oh, well, and not a of heroes in the news. That's what trying to say.
00:34:18
Speaker
ah Well, you know what? There is some news. We have an email. Oh,
00:34:26
Speaker
It's questpodcast at gmail.com. This is from a friend Tyne. I was just on his podcast. Yeah. it's club Talked about Toonstruck, which you should probably talk about on this podcast at some point.
00:34:40
Speaker
We should. I need to play Toonstruck. I watched you play Toonstruck. Yeah, you should you should play Toonstruck. Honestly, watched you play Toonstruck. have been the right amount Toonstruck. Yeah, you know what?
00:34:52
Speaker
It's fine. Yeah. Yeah, that's kind of what I, that's kind of what I walked away from, uh, playing it and then like revisiting it for, uh, uh, the DOS Games Club, uh, podcast. But I was like, you know what? Like, I know that this is a game that people love and I don't even think it's bad.
00:35:09
Speaker
I don't think it's a bad game. I think it's impressive. Uh, uh, uh, but, um, I don't like, you know, it's missing something.
00:35:23
Speaker
It's missing something. More S&M cows. Yeah, it just needs to be a little horny. or Yeah. Anyway. I don't think the girl cows are very horny. They used to sleep with the boys. He emailed us with a ah recommendation. A request.
00:35:39
Speaker
Oh. Oh. Let's see this is on. It is a hello. I'm very much enjoying the podcast. Just heard an episode where he asked for game suggestions. I thought I'd offer one.
00:35:50
Speaker
I enjoyed a lot and I don't hear a lot of talk about talking about don't escape colon four days to survive. You heard of this?
00:36:01
Speaker
Let me look this up. Don't escape. Well, it's $3 right now.
00:36:09
Speaker
Wow, on the spot. On the spot. It's $3. life or ah on the spot on the perch on on the
00:36:22
Speaker
It is $3 a break. But you want to know what? Steam's hanging for me. Oh, there we go. There we go. Okay. And let me just put in my security code. 588812. I always like watching Ben bad things live on stream. I think it's one of our better recurring sequences.
00:36:44
Speaker
It cost three bucks. All right. So already halfway there. Don't Escape, Four Days to Survive. I know what you're thinking. That's a terrible so title. And it is. It was actually supposed to be Don't Escape, Four Days in a Wasteland, but b Brian Fargo's company wasn't happy with the usage of Wasteland. Wow. this It's actually part of the Don't Escape series of web games.
00:37:10
Speaker
You know, I think they don't... Whatever. think they should be able to say four days in a wasteland. I mean, honestly, if anyone's gonna sue for it, I feel like know bethesda has as much claim over wasteland at this point uh uh maybe that's why they're so protective of it because it's you know yeah like well bethesda has already you know got everything going on yeah anyway nobody's going to snake at this game for the latest entry in the wasteland series yeah the latest entry did you play the the new two and three
00:37:51
Speaker
I played one of the rebooted, probably two. um And yeah, I played like an hour of it. That's bad enough for me. It looks fine. I think I have it from a Humble Bundle somewhere. Yeah.
00:38:02
Speaker
Let me see. Do I have that? Let's see here. No, I don't. Anyway, you know, whatever. I just realized that another game I wanted to talk about during, but you know what? We can do that next week.
00:38:16
Speaker
So doing all that helps with digesting the title, but it always remains kind of bad. That is, however, I would argue, the only bad thing to say about this game. Ooh.
00:38:27
Speaker
When it came out in 2019, it was my adventure game the year. would make a huge impact and change the way the adventure games would be made going forward because the game is innovative, offers new ways to deal with the problems that plague the adventure game, Joel.
00:38:39
Speaker
Oh. Because let's face it, as much as we love these games, the genre is quite flawed in some ways, lack of replayability, for example, as I've mentioned.
00:38:49
Speaker
Another one is getting stuck on puzzle, which blocks progress. So you either have to look for a hint or abandon the game altogether, either which is our ideal, really. Well, can you believe it? This game solves that. It does so by offering partial solutions.
00:39:05
Speaker
That's right. You can have had some puzzles in this game and still continue. Can't find everything there is to find. No problem. Isn't that cool? I think it is. The story is cool too. Very atmospheric world with some great characters and sharp writing.
00:39:17
Speaker
It does feature some inventory and time management, which I can imagine might put some people off. People do hate time management. hilarious that I never really found it particularly punishing though.
00:39:29
Speaker
In a way, it helps helps to keep the game moving. The whole thing can be completed in maybe six hours or so, but because of replayability, you can get more out of it if you want to. you play it again, all the puzzles will be different and you'll unlock the extra enemy.
00:39:42
Speaker
So yeah, I think it's a neat little game that does some things a little different than your average point in life. And that's my pitch for you. Keep up the good work. Thank you. That sounds like fun.
00:39:54
Speaker
Well, I bought it. don't know if Jess will, but I bought it. I can't speak. I already had it because I'm kind of like a little bit more at the cutting edge of these sorts of things. You did already have it, really?
00:40:05
Speaker
I don't think I did. um I mean, I say that, you know, like there's all kinds of stuff sitting there in my... No, I don't know.
00:40:16
Speaker
I don't. I mean, it is overwhelmingly positive. So it did do okay, you know, in terms of... This looks interesting. This definitely does not look like the type of game that I would have...
00:40:30
Speaker
picked up by Matri. Yeah. And yeah, you know, I think the time management stuff, that is such a massive turnoff ah to a lot players and, you know, and on occasion, the sometimes the time management stuff kind of balances me.
00:40:47
Speaker
Sometimes you play a game that has time management and you're like, I understand. It couldn't be any other way, right? Like, you know, this time management is the only way And it's also like a lot of time management games are are fairly generous.
00:41:06
Speaker
They're aware of the reputation of time management games, right? Yeah. Unless it's one that's going for hardcore on purpose. I think that things aren't as unforgiving and as they used to be. i think there was a time when developers maybe even didn't really think much about these sorts of time management elements and made them worse than they could have been.
00:41:25
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Yeah. Well, uh, might check this out. This might be a podcast. We'll, we'll, we'll see. Thank you for the recommendation. I'm please. If you have games to recommend to us or questions or ideas for episodes or anything, like we need to do a listener Q and a episode at some point. Cause all podcasts eventually have a listener Q and a episode. I mean, this is the last podcast of the year that normally is the listener Q and a. Yeah, that's right. We could just make up some cues.
00:41:52
Speaker
We could. You know, Star Trek Voyager did. They added a whole bunch of new cues. One was played by John Delancey's son. Oh, John John Delancey? Yeah, little little John John Delancey.
00:42:12
Speaker
All right. ah Well, so here, you know, as said... This is ah our last Quest Quest of the Year of our Lord, 2025. A great year.
00:42:25
Speaker
Yeah, you know, no complaints. Everything went great. And um so this is our last podcast of ah of the year. And so, you know, we we thought we would do some New Year's resolutions.
Humorous Resolutions
00:42:40
Speaker
I've got one, Ben. Yeah, all right, then start, go. 640 by 480.
00:42:47
Speaker
now jess please
00:42:52
Speaker
jess please jess ben please i don't think you get it uh like you're talking about like new year's resolutions like something that you resolve to do in the next year i was talking about screen resolutions that's great ah But just now you go first. 640 by 480 is like a classic 4-3 aspect ratio that you might find like on an old CRT monitor.
00:43:17
Speaker
Like 640 by 480. I
00:43:25
Speaker
like queued up already because I was trying to like when we were doing the money guess, but I was too late on it, but I had it already on the soundboard. Oh, oh man. You know, I had to, I had to hit it, you know?
00:43:36
Speaker
We should just do a Price is Right episode of of eBay big box games. You know what? Hey, hey, hey, Jess, you know what? What?
00:43:47
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I agree. we We're alive. I mean, deep down, both of us want nothing more than to be a contestant and or host on a game show if we're being completely honest with ourselves. Yeah. So why not just turn this into that?
00:44:05
Speaker
oh um All right. That's my resolution. Turn Quest Quest into a game show podcast or a sports gambling podcast by the end of next year. yeah All right. If we were to do ah a what would What would be a way that you could kind of game showify your stream?
00:44:24
Speaker
Make a little game show type thing. What would you do? this is interesting. How would we do a better set, first of all? What if I found the old Merv Griffin set oh like ah in a dumpster somewhere? you Just dragged it home.
00:44:37
Speaker
here's Here's the thing. about making like a game show type thing is that having done like kind of live comedy shows i remember like one uh one time we were like and then this one we're going to just do like a game show like we're this this week we're just gonna turn our comedy show into a game show and we were all really excited about it and until we realized that that was very difficult yeah it was a lot harder they they they make it look so much easier even like the the crappy ones yeah uh and then like making one it was very difficult yeah it was very difficult to do in this scenario is there a game anymore like am i playing a video game or has this whole thing just become a
00:45:27
Speaker
game show format o I don't know. Keep noodling on it. Yeah, because, I mean, if I could get there, that's where I want to be. So, all right, Jess, what's your first resolution?
00:45:42
Speaker
My first resolution. So yeah um i in the upcoming year, I think this is my big one. This is one that I had for last year and did not follow through on as stridently as I should.
00:45:59
Speaker
I want to play more new adventure games in the coming year. This is a big one for me. And I'm a little trapped in the fact that I, you know, stream weekly, a retro adventure game, which means a lot of my weekly adventure gaming time goes to older games. So Jess, I have this question for you because I've been wondering this.
00:46:24
Speaker
Because it's like, you know, on on Adventure Tuesday where we we are not stuck to to retro. like Right. we We'll play, you know, we'll we'll play old games, um ah but we'll swap over to like if there's like an interesting, more recent game.
00:46:43
Speaker
game how married are you to retro adventure Wednesday like how married are you to the retro part of that yeah that's a great question like I feel like I don't know how strong that brand is like I don't know If for a lot of people, the retro adventure Wednesday thing is like synonymous with decaf Jedi. And therefore, you know, I couldn't lose it, but I am reaching a I mean, Ben, last week I streamed the big adventure. Yeah, that's right. I played the big red adventure, this horrible point and click game set in post Soviet Russia. It's an Italian game that has nothing to say about post Soviet Russia, but yet chose to,
00:47:28
Speaker
set a game there. It was miserable. It was terrible. And we're getting to the point where i can only play space quest three so many more times
Exploring New Adventure Games
00:47:43
Speaker
because yeah, like,
00:47:45
Speaker
Well, you you know, you did mean there's play the ah Blackwell Legacy, and I think that was on a retro adventure, but that is a retro adventure game. At this point, I mean, maybe time's on my side. Maybe I just dragged this out until more and more games become retro, just as the clock ticks. If if I may.
00:48:03
Speaker
So there's... i would I would heartily recommend that you move you move over, that yeah that you start to you know consider like mixing in some recent ones.
00:48:17
Speaker
ah One, because there are a lot of really great ones. But also, two um ah Like, i I, yeah, I think I'd like, I mean, you you do play newer adventure games. I do. The challenge is, and this is something I think that you and I, like, is it's like, okay, so we both stream adventure games.
00:48:42
Speaker
And then we have a podcast where we talk about adventure games. And then when is there time to, like, leisurely play another adventure game, not for content reasons? Yeah.
00:48:54
Speaker
Yeah. i mean, I don't do a lot of that. I mean, it's kind of interesting. yeah If I'm playing an adventure game, it's because it's like, yeah, I'm streaming it or I'm playing it to prep for an episode of the podcast or something like that, which isn't bad because I still enjoy them when I'm, yeah it's not like it becomes work, especially the streaming. I mean, that is, that is a joy to get to do, but, uh,
00:49:18
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, it it doesn't leave, I mean, there's no going be able to play 10 hours of Overwatch a week and stream an adventure game and prep for the podcast and leisurely play an adventure game. And clearly something's got to give. what is your ah What is your your your year cutoff for a retro adventure game Wednesday?
00:49:37
Speaker
You know, it's more vibes based for me, like things that just sort of have started to feel old. Like, honestly, I would say, if I had to put a date on it at this point, maybe like a 10 year window, like I would say 2015 stuff is increasingly retro, which opens me up to a ton of more stuff. But you know, I think I just need to play new, more new games. yeah You gotta gotta do it. And I, I'm going to say should open up your, your stream to, to newer.
00:50:10
Speaker
are you just trying to hurt my brand? Well, I mean, here's the thing. And maybe we talk we are in competition with each other. Well, no, but no, we, we, I think we talked about this when you talked about streaming adventure games. Maybe I don't remember. I don't remember anything I say on the spot. No.
00:50:25
Speaker
Um, is, is that like, um, you know, as like in the the streaming game, you are guaranteed an audience that will be there to watch someone play King's Quest V for the hundredth time that they've seen it than like something new, um you know? And so you do like there, there is ah like, you you know, kind of depending
00:50:58
Speaker
But like, you know, like usually there's like 20% of your audience is is out the door, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And that's a them problem. That's a them problem. And like, it's like, I, you know, that, that is not too much a concern for me because I don't make a living off of this. uh, uh, but like my production values are so high. If I can't earn like a hundred bucks or so per stream, you know, it's not even worth getting out of bed. So I've really got to think about this sort of thing.
00:51:29
Speaker
But yeah, ah you ah i I recommend playing the new games. And I'll i'll jump on because I have a resolution that's similar to that one. but Okay. a little bit different.
00:51:41
Speaker
Which is I want to... buy play more completely unknown new adventure game indies. We've already started doing that just earlier in this very podcast. Well, yeah, but that game I wouldn't even say is completely unknown because that has like overwhelmingly positive like steam reviews. So it at least, you know, has sold o okay enough that like a thousand people played it and played it to to review it.
00:52:08
Speaker
I just assumed because I'd never heard of it. Surely no one else had. um But, but like, you know, there's a lot of there, there are a lot of new adventure games that,
00:52:20
Speaker
And like adventure games, like, especially if you want to broaden out the category. So maybe not, you know, like our bread and butter, not the the point and clicks that would have in their description inspired by classics like Monkey Island.
00:52:35
Speaker
um But, ah you know, something like, you know, like a visual novel. or Or like more of a choose your own adventure type here thing. Because I think right now i do kind of hold a little too closely to... Like I do play...
00:52:56
Speaker
more like I'll play some more recent adventure games, um ah but I'll also the beaten path of stay on the beaten path of ah knownon titles and known titles are going to be the ones like you know pretty much anything out by wajit i like all these you know wish list and then maybe come around to eventually because it's just like yeah i know those are going to be good like or like you know like uh uh uh like it
00:53:38
Speaker
games that that do like kind of break through and get some amount of notice like i'll i'll play those or or ones that i you know uh uh people that like i i follow on the various like social medias or forums or whatever that i kind of lurk in ah that like i see a little buzz of i'll pick those up but i don't do a lot of kind of discovery for myself Ah.
00:54:02
Speaker
And, i you know, i think there's a lot of, um i think there's a lot of value also to, like, even if I end up getting a game and I don't particularly like it, or if I don't think that it's, ah like, a great game itself,
00:54:30
Speaker
there's always something kind of interesting, right? Yeah. And like, you know, and this this is something I've been thinking a lot about recently because it's like we had so much fun and we were talking about this a little bit on an earlier podcast. We had so much fun playing Blue Force.
00:54:48
Speaker
Yes. Marvelous game. And also we had a lot of fun playing Phantasmagoria and neither of those games are are games that I think I would describe as like well-designed adventure games. No, i don't think a lot of people would like, I don't think many people would describe either of those as well-designed adventure games. I would think you'd have to have drank a lot of Kool-Aid to like say Phantasmagoria is a well-designed.
00:55:12
Speaker
adventure game i i saw i saw uh someone online like just kind of like beating up on phantasmagoria and like i couldn't disagree with any of their like criticisms from a gameplay standpoint there's just like there's a lot of screens there's nothing happening on any of them like the like the puzzles are easy but simultaneously they're kind of hard because it's just like you have to kind of wander around and find a room where something's glowing and be like oh It's here. That's what's changed since yesterday. again yeah I over this whole estate. yeah That's what I do every morning here though, to make sure. Like when I get up, just go to every room to make sure there aren't any new like points of interactivity or anything like that.
00:55:51
Speaker
Exactly. and I should be doing that too. That's also a resolution. But the thing is, is it's like I had so much fun playing Blue Force and playing Phantasmagoria. And part of it was that like I was making fun of them too, but I also had a lot of fun playing them.
00:56:09
Speaker
And, you know... Like, and and and part of it is, is it's like, you know, Blue Force, you know, like, like you know, those are old and kind of like Blue Force is abandoned in Phantasmagoria. Like, I think I got for $2 at one point.
00:56:28
Speaker
So it's a little bit of a harder sell to pick up something new and unknown and, you know, pay full price for something I realized didn't do that much for me. um But at the same time, i think what I'm trying to say is it's like trying to break out of as much a like straightforward good-bad and more of a kind of like a this, you know, i didn't I didn't love this game, but it it it gave me something that was kind of interesting and memorable.
00:56:57
Speaker
um i think that's true. Phantasmagoria and Blue Force. Yeah. That's what I try to, you know in streaming games that i know are probably going to be bad or games that have reputations of being bad.
00:57:08
Speaker
I feel like there's plenty of places to go on the internet if you want to see somebody dunking on a bad game. And oftentimes, find out those sorts of games, it's more fun to find games.
00:57:20
Speaker
what is entertaining or unique or unexpected about them and trying to focus on that. Cause yeah, even, even a bad game usually has something redeeming about i will say the big red adventure was a tough one to find redeeming qualities that kind of the same way that like a Beverly Hillbillies. It's like when there's barely any game there, oftentimes it's hard to find the charm and at all, but No, I think that, you know, that's something I think I could do a little bit more of in the next year, too, is just find those games that that aren't the ones everybody's talking about already.
00:57:54
Speaker
Yeah, I, you know, like, ah well, and also I just want to know, ah how dare you say that there isn't anything Beverly Hillbillies gave us this?
00:58:11
Speaker
You it's just this beautiful little arrangement in ad lib. It's just very nice. It's very pleasant. mean, they do the best they can at the instruments they have.
00:58:21
Speaker
Yeah. You know, it's just this nice little tune played, you know, with the tinkly powers of, like, your Sound Blaster Pro, your ad lib, whatever. Normal. Yeah.
00:58:31
Speaker
Just kind of a normal...
00:58:40
Speaker
I know that first one's like a warning.
00:58:49
Speaker
many times. Do you think...
00:59:03
Speaker
Do you think this supposed to like communicate to the player that this is like a peaceful setting where something is gone, where something is about to go horribly wrong? this supposed to be discordant on purpose to like disrupt the peaceful nature of this rural setting that the game begins in?
00:59:21
Speaker
Or is that supposed to be some sort of chord that, that should be in harmony with this melody and it is either like emulated incorrectly and wrong or got like chewed up by ad lib and spat out the wrong way or yeah you think that's an intentional we're going to take this don't think it's a little song and fuck it up or is it i don't think it's intentional um what i what i will say is though is that like sometimes those like glitches become canon in your mind yeah like uh uh i think we we've spoken about game tap on here and i had a game like when i had game tap uh they had an arcade section and in the game tap arcade section
01:00:12
Speaker
ah they emulated this ah kind of like platform auto scroll shoot them up called Sun Sun. I don't know if you ever played that if you're familiar, but like, and I would play it all the time because it, it had like two player co-op. So I would play with my friend, Andrew, he'd come over to my dorm room and we would play together.
01:00:35
Speaker
And um it similarly had obvious, ah like whatever emulator that they were using at GameTap, like probably some version of MAME or something, um like it was kind of glitched out with the sound emulation. Like it played perfectly fine, but it would have like every once in a while, like discordant, like farts and like... yeah Like, he would go..................... done du du du du du and du du and and du and du and da du du da da da da da da da but bu ah but but but but but da but ah
01:01:16
Speaker
da da da da da da da da bar the And so it would play like the normal tune and then it would just start throwing like that Beverly Hillbillies version, like just like, man like in the middle of it.
01:01:31
Speaker
And those became like, Andrew and I would like just turn to each other go, blah, blah, blah, blah.
01:01:39
Speaker
yeah There are a few of the Sierra games that with an emulated Roland will slip out of key, which I find that yes yes yeah fascinating. I can't believe it's possible. Like I can imagine it like starting out in the wrong key, but the idea that somehow it just slowly slips out of the key it should be in is way funnier to me. And yeah, that's good stuff. um Yeah. So anyway, yeah, i want to, I want to, and you want to know what,
01:02:07
Speaker
There was a game that I took ah a launch day. Never heard of this. Never like... I took a launch day roll of the dice um a couple years ago.
01:02:21
Speaker
A game I'd never heard of it. It was kickstarted. i didn't know anything about it. I didn't know anything about the person that made it. Space Venture. Yes, Space Venture. here It was 1.0, now out. um And... in stores. um ah Yeah, head down to Electronics Boutique. And... um I bought it just because I looked at the screenshots, kind of similar to my decision to to get this game, E is Coming, um and was just like, you know what? This looks kind of interesting. i have no idea what this is.
01:02:55
Speaker
And not only that, I was like, not only this, I'm going to buy it and play it on my stream. want to know what that game was? Perfect Tides, one of my favorite games, made like ah indie adventure games that I've played.
01:03:12
Speaker
Yeah. Like, and that ended up getting a lot like, and I think it did have like, but I didn't know any of that. Like it was literally like somebody posted online, like, Hey, this new game came out today. And I looked at it. I looked at like three screenshots. I was like, this looks interesting.
01:03:27
Speaker
Bang. ah Like, and then it turned out that I like absolutely adored it. And so that was also kind of why it was like, You know, like, before even having the chance to have, like, someone tell me, it's like, this is this beautiful coming-of-age story that's going to, like, tear you apart.
01:03:47
Speaker
ah It, like, I just, like, picked it up and and discovered that on my own, which was, like, an even better a way to do it. So...
01:03:58
Speaker
ah Yeah. i uh, do you have a, another one, ah on, on. Yeah. Another resolution. This will go in the other direction. Uh, you know, I said, I wanted to play more new games.
Infocom Games Exploration
01:04:11
Speaker
Uh, let me, uh, let me contradict myself immediately.
01:04:16
Speaker
i this year want to get a little more into info. Common games. I feel like as an adventure gamer, my lack of exposure to Amphicom is a real oversight. And I'm going ahead and like preemptively say, I suspect I will not like a lot of these games. I feel like that...
01:04:42
Speaker
The more difficult ones I think I will bounce off of hardcore. ah But there are enough genres covered and enough interesting writers and designers here. I suspect a game I will absolutely love is lurking there somewhere in the Infocom catalog. Perhaps it's lurking horror.
01:04:59
Speaker
It could be lurking horror. um I bet. It's probably a mind forever voyaging. That's probably the game that you're thinking of. like I think it's going to be mine forever. voice and That game has no puzzles. Which is about my level of difficulty I'm looking for. um that's ah That's a really good one. Because i that was almost...
01:05:20
Speaker
That's a resolution I almost have or that I have like every year, which is like, this is the year and it's not Infocom. It's like, this is the year I'm going to get into interactive fiction. I have that thought and then usually like I'll play because I have like a passing familiarity with a lot of And I have a couple that I really like, a couple like amateur interactive fiction games. And I've like, and I think I grew up more with Infocom than than you did. Do you? I think so. Yeah. Any Infocom games as a kid? Do you have any? Only Zork. And even then it was just like tinkering around like a few screens. I never got anywhere in it or anything like that. And really, gosh, I think the only Infocom game I've ever played start to finish is Hitchhiker's Guide. Yeah.
01:06:10
Speaker
And then after that, it's just, I mean, I've messed around a little bit in bureaucracy. I've messed around a little bit in Zork one, but after that, it's like a steep drop off a cliff. I've never played station fall or planet fall, which seemed like really strong contenders for games. I might like for some obvious reasons involving space janitors and things. Mm-hmm. But yeah, that's something I'd like to do more of this year. I i i love the idea of Infocom and i love, you know, the the here's the thing. if I play a bunch of Infocom games and start liking them, then I have an excuse to start buying big box copies of those Infocom games.
01:06:52
Speaker
And then I get to have all the wonderful feelies. Yeah. those are That's what I really want. But yeah, I am going to try to play a little bit more Infocom this year and see if I can, if I can find my favorite Infocom game, because I don't think it's going to be Hitchhiker's Guide.
01:07:07
Speaker
No. um I liked Hitchhiker's Guide, but it's kind of a miserable game in a lot of ways. I don't think it's a, it but I think it is, it's, it's a game made for Infocom sickos.
01:07:22
Speaker
infocom sickos and hitchhikers got sickos and i'm only kind of one of those and only then kinda yeah i think i think you really have to be because hitchhiker's guide which i haven't completed like either but it is like very difficult and um Yeah, like there's there's a certain playfulness, especially to Steve Maritzki games.
01:07:52
Speaker
Like it it requires deep lateral thinking. um And a lot of the time it's just like, ah fuck off. Yeah.
01:08:05
Speaker
but Um, so here, here's another one. And this kind of ties into this, uh, uh, what you're saying, which is, and this is, this is actually a resolution I have every year.
01:08:20
Speaker
And, uh, we'll see, we'll see how this one goes. Be better about so trying to solve puzzles. I had this one too. I should quit giving up right away and using walkthroughs for everything.
01:08:34
Speaker
Now, all note, like, as I said, this is, this is something that I have on my list every year. um whether or not like I write it down or anything or or commit it to a podcast, um,
01:08:46
Speaker
And, but it is like a thought I have every year where it's just like, you know you look at something like, uh, like friend of the pod, uh, uh, robot spacer. He sent us that email. Yes. What was that? Like French murder mystery. Oh, my two, my TP. Yeah. Yeah. And, and like, and I, you know, I've watched him stream a bit, like, uh, watched him play a bit as seventh guest, uh, Mm-hmm.
01:09:16
Speaker
And, you know, some of the, like, the other adventure game streamers and stuff like that. And i'll I'll watch them, like, ah play some adventure games and, like, really kind of, you know bang their head against some puzzles.
01:09:37
Speaker
and And I'll be like, you know, this is a really interesting way to play these games. And this is not at all how I play games. It especially ah impresses me like when you see a streamer like Robot Spacer, whose channel I love, one of my favorite Twitch streamers.
01:09:54
Speaker
I'm always desperately worried when I'm streaming that if I take too long to do anything, The chat's going to get bored. um I'm going to look like a big old fool as I can't figure this thing out.
01:10:09
Speaker
He is willing to power through these puzzles and just linger on them as long as it takes to figure these things out on his own. That stresses me out so much. Yeah, just like such a meticulous thought process that I wish I could do.
01:10:24
Speaker
But when I have people watching, I'm like, I got to get this rolling. I can't make these people watch me bang my head against Big Red Adventure for six streams. I've got to get to the end of this thing so I can resume life. Well, get bored Like pretty much... There's that too. By the time...
01:10:40
Speaker
that I get around to like stream three of a game. I'm, I'm ready to move on. Like it's tough. Yeah. I I'm, I'm like it, it is like, I'm, I'm, I'm kind of over it. Uh, like unless it's really, really caught me. Like, honestly, i wish blue force was longer.
01:11:03
Speaker
I wish I could play blue force forever. Um, Especially because we stumbled on some really incredible glitches. It might've been some VM glitches, but they were still very funny. Why isn't there some sort of AI powered version of Blue Force that just keeps creating more game procedurally for you to keep playing forever? well I got great news for you. The the the guy who was the the CEO of Tsunami ah is now the CEO of an AI firm. so Oh, thank goodness. Reach right out to him and say, you know, ah um release Blue Force forever. That's my working title. Uh-huh. And make this clear and make sure that Jim Wall sees none of the money from his hard work.
01:11:53
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you know, like, you know, underline that bold it like it's like, please, please, please, please. When you use the AI, make sure that no artist receives any. But also train that AI entirely on the text from police quest one through three and blue force. Yeah, yeah. Make sure nobody, nobody benefits from this other than you.
01:12:14
Speaker
Yeah. and don't don't Don't poison that data set with other useless information. Codename Iceman in there. um Yeah, you should throw codename Iceman there and maybe parts of Blade Runner.
01:12:27
Speaker
And also that ah that that pirate platform. Yeah, Adventures of Black Cat or whatever that one is. Yeah. Anyway, so yeah, be better about trying to solve puzzles was was that. But you also have that. So, you know, I'll move on. I had a complimentary.
01:12:42
Speaker
i had a complimentary resolution to that. Oh, is this one where you compliment me? Yes. ah Be nicer to Jess. Oh, thank you. but i was on mine too is asked ben to be nicer too But also have the other one of don't be shy about looking up hints.
01:13:03
Speaker
Oh, I have the, the contradictory one because here's the thing is, is that my, my thing is, is that like,
01:13:16
Speaker
All, what I'll do is I'll try to solve a puzzle and I'll try to solve a puzzle and I'll try to solve a puzzle. And then if I'm not able to solve it, sometimes I'll be like, all right, well, you know, I'll put it, put it down, walk around, come back to it.
01:13:30
Speaker
Guess what? I put it down. I don't come back. And ah so like sometimes I get a little like bit of a complex about like looking like it's like, I don't, you know, I don't want to, I want to do this. um Like, and then it just kind of puts the game down for me.
01:13:52
Speaker
Yeah. You know? And so like, so simultaneously I want to be better about trying to solve puzzles, but at the same time I want to be like, but you know what? like these are games that are meant to be played and finished.
01:14:08
Speaker
And also it's like, I don't have to get like 30 hours or whatever. Like, you know, I don't have to have endless entertainment out of this game ah ah because I already have an enormous backlog of the games.
01:14:21
Speaker
I just bought Don't Escape for Days to Survive after all. You still haven't finished Tales from the Borderlands. That's true. Even though you make a commitment. I made a commitment to play the first chapter roll the tape.
01:14:33
Speaker
um But, ah
01:14:38
Speaker
but, ah ah but yeah. um So, so that, that that's mine too. Is, is like, you know, don't, don't kill a game play by not looking up hints, you know? Yeah.
01:14:50
Speaker
So just the right amount. You need to find the Goldilocks zone. That's absolutely right. Jess, what else do you have on on your list? Oh, gosh. I think this is what I've talked about before. Because, again, i mean, that's the great thing about any New Year's resolution.
01:15:05
Speaker
Any good New Year's resolution worth its salt, it's not your first year having it. Oh, yeah. i mean like you're It's on, like, his third or fourth appearance. Mm-hmm. i want to make a conscious effort to pay better attention to game music this year. All right. I am someone for whom of all the elements of video games, I feel like music is the one that most typically i if it's pretty good, i don't pay attention to it at all. The only time it seems to ever leap out at me is when it's maybe egregiously bad or ill fitting in some way.
01:15:45
Speaker
i like I mean, not to keep donkey on big red adventure, but it had some pretty wild music choices at one point it just plays the happy days theme, like not even changed around much. And like, just cause you're at a diner. ah But I would like,
01:16:02
Speaker
to be better about trying to appreciate the music and games. Cause I think it's, especially the more atmospheric games. Oftentimes I think have some of the most interesting music and sound design.
01:16:13
Speaker
And i get caught up in story, character, puzzle, graphics, voice acting, kind of everything but music. So I'd like to do a little bit better job with that.
01:16:25
Speaker
I mean, I, yeah, I love, i love, i love a lot of like, You know, yeah and we talked about this, and maybe we can revisit if ah if if that does, you know, become something.
01:16:37
Speaker
Because also, it's like, I come back, really great soundtracks, I come back and I i listen to, like, and I keep listening to. And so... um uh like know i'm still listening to uh the soundtrack uh from norco i keep going back to that play the music that's actually one of my uh one of my resolutions is to talk less about norco and immortality but you know what that's not one of both of those are great games those are great games and you know as like uh they really i don't know if we've ever mentioned this before both these games really stuck with me yeah they you know what
01:17:16
Speaker
They stuck with, uh, yeah. We're going anymore. I mean, i don't want to go off. I mean, everyone should go pick up Norco and immortality, but, uh, Kentucky read zero. Um, you know, also hypnospace outlaw has some really spectacular music.
01:17:29
Speaker
Um, and the, the music is, is part of the, like the game, you know, in, in hypnospace outlaw as it is in Kentucky read zero. Um, but, uh, but yeah, that's a good one. i have a, I have another one, uh, here.
Positive Impact of Reviews
01:17:44
Speaker
This is complimentary to the very first ah ah one that I said. And this is actually, this is something I'm saying also. I'm making it our listeners' ah New Year's resolution too, which is ah write more positive Steam reviews.
01:18:03
Speaker
ah This is complimentary to the the the buy unknown indies and stuff like that, which is to say it's like, you know, you you talk to... If you you talk to indie developers, if you have friends that are like, or if you know, if you have ah friends in any kind of business, like if who who run, you know, something that has a ah Google business page.
01:18:27
Speaker
ah the the difference in sales, in, you know, in revenue and whatever, ah depending on like a Google My Business review that is, you know, above 4.5 or a Steam review that is you know overwhelmingly positive, ah it's a multiplier. It's, you know, an avalanche. It's proof that you've already sold well, and then it signals to people that, ah like, that it's okay to for it to buy.
01:18:59
Speaker
um And if I'm going to be somebody that's, like, kind of taking more, ah like, jumps into games that,
01:19:11
Speaker
uh you know i haven't heard of or anything like that your review presumably will be disproportionately more powerful yeah well it's more helpful that's what i'm saying the potential for it to actually make a difference uh as opposed to being like the three thousandth review on a game you know yeah for a game that's uh got a little bit smaller uh reach you know that that really makes it there's gotta tell you my secret shame ben i just looked this up while you're talking what's your secret shame i own I own 536 products on Steam.
01:19:41
Speaker
I think i I probably have you beat. but's Yeah, i would but here's the secret shame. Yeah. I reviewed two of them. I have 646.
01:19:52
Speaker
and i've reviewed a bunch of them where do you see how many reviews where's the thing when i clicked into let's see how did i find that uh went to my profile and i clicked on on the side panel it says reviews oh profiles uh uh reviews on the right side three and i gotta do better on that too yeah so i have two um One of them, and I'm proud to say this, is for Rosewater. Yeah.
01:20:21
Speaker
for For Francisco, our sandwich correspondent, Francisco Gonzalez, is a fantastic Western Rosewater. I've written a review of that. And my other one, and I have no memory of reviewing this game, um I apparently wrote a review 2014 for Dev Tycoon.
01:20:38
Speaker
for game dev tycoon Those are only two games I've ever played that moved me enough to review them on Steam. Interesting. Um...
01:20:50
Speaker
Yeah, so I need to do... That's pretty bad. I need to do better. My most recent ones are, like, in terms of adventures, one for Locomotive, Rosewater, and Crimson Diamond.
01:21:03
Speaker
do better. It shocks me that you gave thumbs down to all three of those, too, but you did have legitimate complaints. Yeah, I you did... I mean, you point out some really great flaws that probably stopped lot people from buying those, so...
01:21:15
Speaker
I mean, yeah, do better. um But anyway, yeah, like any any andy any indie route ah like developer will tell you that this stuff really helps a lot. um And, ah you know, and this is a niche genre.
01:21:34
Speaker
um And ah like, you know, there's only like a couple things that break through ah in general. And so it's like, you know, if if you want if If you want adventure games to to, like, if you want more people making adventure games and you want, like, more adventure games that are, like, you know, of large variety, ah you have to to support them. And one way of supporting them beyond just buying them is to, you know, kind of help promote them in in whatever way you you can.
01:22:13
Speaker
And Ben, would you say the same is true of small adventure game podcasts? ah Maybe possibly. us ah I would only say that is true of a podcasts that go through certain actors, filmographies.
01:22:29
Speaker
um I don't care for those though. They're usually a little, i mean, after you've heard one, you've heard them all. And, and conversely on, on filmography podcasts and indie game ah ah reviews, if you don't like it, then you don't, you don't have to do, you know, you don't have to give them a bad review. Like i unless they're, unless they're like making like a hateful game. That's like, you know, like racist or something. you don't have to give it a a bad review if yeah so it wasn't super fun that's fine well games cannot be fun like yeah if if if it's not something you particularly enjoyed yeah i own like on my steam like a whole bunch of games i i could care less about ah i'm gonna start but review bombing bad reviews i'm gonna set up a bot network to thumbs down bad reviews
01:23:18
Speaker
but But anyway, so those, that that's another, that's, that's ah another one.
Finding Tabletop RPG Groups
01:23:24
Speaker
Do you, do you have, i have one last one. Do you have anything else? ah One quick one that's been again, like any good resolution, it should be one that appears annually.
01:23:33
Speaker
This one probably goes back for me until like 1985 or so. i would like to find ah more opportunities for,
01:23:44
Speaker
real life tabletop RPG playing this year. I've been searching for good, yeah whether it's D&D or something else, just a good opportunity to play role playing game as I've been searching for for decades now and have struggled so mightily to find.
01:24:03
Speaker
Well, and also there's so many, um like, I mean, it's hard to find that group, right? Yeah. ah But also, like, there's a lot of really interesting um tabletop a games and systems and stuff like that on, like, itch, you know? Yeah.
01:24:22
Speaker
like ah Like our friend Grayson was talking about recently where it's like, oh, what you been playing lately? And like he talks about like some system that you can buy for like 10 bucks. yeah like it Yeah. Like it's like.
01:24:33
Speaker
Yeah. i would I would play any system if I could just find the group. Yeah. Just got to find that group. I used to have a really great board game group like a long and I've been chasing that.
01:24:45
Speaker
Yeah. And chasing that for years. um And, ah you know, i I've never quite like I still play board games and stuff like that, but I've never quite gotten that group again, which is a little just a little sad to me. um But anyway.
Podcast Future Plans
01:25:04
Speaker
Ben, what else do you have? ah The last one is about this podcast, which is, you know what? I resolved. Please don't recast me. Please don't recast me. That we replace Jess with ah man Richard Dawson.
01:25:18
Speaker
Wow. But unfortunately, Richard da Dawson has passed away. So thank God. Stuck with Jess. Ha. Take that, Richard Dawson. No, you know what?
01:25:29
Speaker
I think next year we should have more guests. And I say this with an knowledge of that we have two booked guests for January. Yeah. I vote against that. Yeah. Who knows? Yeah. We're, we're heading into an exciting period in, in quest quest gang and thank all of y'all for listening to us every single episode for this entire year.
01:25:52
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you for listening to every single one. Yes. Liking them all equally. Yes. Including this one, which wasn't just something we threw together. No, this took hours of preparation. and By hours, I mean days.
01:26:08
Speaker
You should have seen what our production assistant went through yeah to prepare all this for us. Yeah, that's right. When I saw my resolutions for the first time about an hour before we went live, I was like, this sounds exactly like the kind of list I would have drawn up if I'd given this a moment's thought.
01:26:27
Speaker
Um, yeah. That's why Grayson's the best in the biz. All right. Well, folks, uh, thank you so much for, for sticking with us through 2025, the greatest year of them all.
01:26:40
Speaker
You know what? I think 2026 is going to be even better. Wow. um ah But anyway, thank you so much. Happy New Year to everybody listening. We hope ah you have a a happy New Year. And um ah please rate and review ah this podcast. It does help other people find this. Now, you may say, Jess just said out of the 500 plus games he's played, he's only taken the time to review two of them and say, why should I review his podcast? It's like, well, remember Ben also hosts this podcast and you know you owe it to him if you don't owe it to me. Yeah, that's right. You owe it to me. You owe it to Ben.
01:27:20
Speaker
Yeah, to Ben. Gotta give to band a And i and matt you if if you've got ah any questions you want us to talk about, recommendations, anything, just us an email, questquestpodcast at gmail.com.
01:27:37
Speaker
And be sure to join us next week when we will ah start 2026 off with a bang by talking about Space Quest 4.