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They Turned the Museum Into a Zoo with Blue Otter Gaming
13 Plays4 days ago
Tony is joined by Tycoon/Management YouTuber and Streamer Blue Otter Gaming! The two recap the Xbox Partner Showcase for November, talk all about the Zooseum DLC for Two Point Museum, discuss all things Tycoon/Management Sim related, and how many games they played in 2025. They also recap all the gaming headlines of the last 2 weeks, and upcoming game releases!
Follow Tony: https://www.twitch.tv/tonysgamelounge
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TonysGameLounge
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Follow Blue Otter: https://www.youtube.com/@BlueOtterGaming
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/blueotter128
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Join the Official Tony's Game Lounge Discord: https://discord.gg/xXyvjaCsXp
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Transcript
Introduction and Greetings
00:00:00
Speaker
Disclaimer, all views expressed on this podcast represent the host and his guest and not the companies or agencies they are associated with.
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome to Tony's Game Lounge, a bi-weekly podcast that covers everything in the world of video games, TCG, tabletop and more. Here's your host, Tony 14. Hello everybody and welcome back to another brand new episode of the Tony's Game Lounge podcast. I am your host as always Tony 14 and joining us this week is a brand new guest. You can find her on YouTube, Twitch, probably playing a bunch of Tycoon and management style sim games.
00:00:41
Speaker
It is Blue Otter Gaming Otter. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you. Howdy, howdy. Howdy, indeed. ah How are you doing today on this fine day of recording?
00:00:55
Speaker
Doing great. It's actually quite cold this morning. oh you have you have no idea how cold it is. ah it cold The cold season has happened, snow has hit the ground, and my Canadian ass is frozen.
00:01:11
Speaker
Oh, you can keep the snow. You haven't got snow yet where you are? No, no, we're only in like the 40s right now. That's Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Fahrenheit, not Celsius. If it was Celsius, I'd be like, damn, I wish, I wish.
Loading Screen Game Discussion
00:01:25
Speaker
Yeah, Celsius is more of our summer temperatures. Yeah, no, I bet. Well, since you are brand new here, we get to start with a little game I like to call Loading Screen, which you get to give us your favorite video game, favorite video game character, and favorite video game soundtrack.
00:01:46
Speaker
so many to choose from. Alright, favorite game, hands down, is one that's over 20 years old. Ooh. Game of the Year. Ooh.
00:01:57
Speaker
And it is Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Solid choice. Hands down. Very solid choice. Favorite game. It's one of the few games that I've actually replayed it multiple times.
00:02:10
Speaker
I have not played Knights of the Old Republic. Ever. Ever. you You need to. It was actually the the first game that I actually bought on Steam because I have it on CD-ROM, but I kept losing the discs and misplacing the discs. And one day they had it on sale on Steam and I'm like, sure.
00:02:33
Speaker
And so I've just I've had it ever since. Nice. nice that's You know what? That's a solid first purchase on Steam. i i still have I still have the CD. I do occasionally find it and lose it. And I still have the the old, like, before internet was really commonplace to go look at it, they had these book walkthroughs that you would buy the book and it would give you all the details and walkthroughs. Yes. And I still have the book for that one. Oh, that's cool. That's really cool.
00:03:06
Speaker
ah What about video game character? As I'm sitting here, I'm i'm actually looking. i've got some figures of i want them duck I've got some figures from Duck Detective on my desk. Yeah, yo, Duck Detective. Hell yeah. I've got the makeshift from Andu from um Tavern Talk.
00:03:28
Speaker
And I think it was a makeshift for a Rambly from Indigo Park. Okay, that's pretty cool. So little little variety stuff. i have I have tons of little otters, but those aren't video game characters. ah Soundtrack.
00:03:45
Speaker
So many of them. That's actually one of the things that I like to do is I like to listen to music and ah game soundtracks are sometimes the best ones to listen to because they really they're designed to help you focus.
00:03:59
Speaker
ah I never thought of it like that, but you're absolutely right. us Because when you got to lock in, as the kids say, ah ah the music can can kind of help most of the time because it's, does oh wow oh, yeah, that's a good analysis.
00:04:19
Speaker
we'll say um and So there's a lot of games that when you get them on Steam, they also will offer the the soundtrack. Yeah, they do. um I think the one that I'd listened to recently was the one from Luma Island.
Hot Takes on Video Games
00:04:33
Speaker
Oh, okay. Okay. I have not played that yet, but I have seen it all around my Steam pages and whatnot. It's a pretty cool game. I almost rage to quit last year, but that's that's another story. Okay.
00:04:51
Speaker
Well, all right then. ah Well, that's the loading screen. Moving on to our second game that we play with a new every new guest is Hot Takes. Otter, what would you say is your hottest video game take that you have?
00:05:05
Speaker
um I have no interest in playing Stardew Valley. war Whoa! ho Holy... Part of it is is I feel like if I got into it, it would be something that... Where does it end?
00:05:19
Speaker
Okay, no, that's fair. im thats That's part of it, but it's like there's so many other games that I want to play before that one. No, okay. that's a i could I understand where the that that is coming from. I just never thought I would ever like hear that like sentence ever.
00:05:42
Speaker
I've never played it. It's never been on my wish list. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Okay. You know what? I'm clubbed by like half of my subscribers now.
00:05:55
Speaker
No. Wow. Okay. I mean, as as a guy who has played a lot of Stardew Valley, I think close to 200 hours i'm Yeah, I am 199.5 hours on ah plus my PlayStation 4 save. So I have over 200 hours in the game time that I have played of this.
00:06:20
Speaker
um And the ending of the game, there there is like, i mean, it's like a harvest moon. There is no real ending. It's just you keep doing the cycle until you're like satisfied with everything or you like collect every achievement, which is what I basically did.
00:06:39
Speaker
was just collect every achievement except for three, which was the two of them are tied behind a mini game, which is very difficult. And the other one is doing the evil money route that you can do, which a lot of people only ever do the one of just to get the achievement for.
00:07:01
Speaker
And that's about it. Yeah, no, that that's totally fair. I've I think I've played games where it's like I've gone and I save it before i have to make a decision that revolves in involved you either going evil or good, and then that way I'll save all my back progress and I can make the decision to go bad.
00:07:21
Speaker
yeah no. and I like when games give that.
Xbox Showcase Highlights
00:07:24
Speaker
I can also save it so I can do the good side because i i mean, the the tagline at the end of every single one of my videos is kindness is a free action.
00:07:33
Speaker
And but sometimes in my video games, I am the most chaotic evil person that exists. Oh, I mean, when they give us the choice, why not? It's like Hotel Architect. How else am I going to get a haunted hotel? Oh,
00:07:50
Speaker
ah Absolutely. Exactly. Well, that's the hot take. That was honestly, that might, that might've been that I would, I'm, I'm upset. I think out of all the episodes this season, that might've been the hottest take this whole season.
00:08:06
Speaker
Not going to lie. Uh, Moving on to our headline of the week. Hey, there was an Xbox partner preview showcase for November where Xbox showed off a couple games that are coming out soon or next year ah that ah they have partnerships with. And it was just like a very all right show. Nothing super crazy.
00:08:31
Speaker
Um, with the games that they showed off, we started with our, uh, our Mattis, which is a third person action shooter coming out next year. The main protagonist, I'm not going to lie. I was about, I said to myself, is this dark siders?
00:08:44
Speaker
Cause the guy looks a lot like the dark siders lead. It's not, uh, it's just a third person action shooter. Uh, we then got a trailer for the mound omen of Cthulhu, which looks like a multiplayer horde shooter,
00:08:58
Speaker
It's dropping sometime in summer 2026. We got a new update for Dave the Diver in the Jungle DLC. That's coming out in early 2026 now.
00:09:10
Speaker
Crow Sworn is a new Metroidvania that was just shown off. No release date as of yet. as As no release date as well for Echo Generation 2, which is a new deck builder RPG in the works.
00:09:23
Speaker
ah We are getting a spinoff of vampire survivors called vampire crawlers ah is a roguelike just like vampire survivors. ah But this time it's a deck building roguelike in the vampire survivors universe. So now you can play even more vampire survivors.
00:09:43
Speaker
Which is cool, I guess. I like Vampire Survivors. ah I've never been a fan deck building roguelikes. So I'll interested how to do You I wasn't either.
00:09:55
Speaker
Sorry. Yeah, go for it. I wasn't either, but I've come across a few of them that I really liked. So it's kind of ah a new genre that I've been and been kind of enjoying. You know what? and maybe Maybe Vampire Crawlers will be what it does what does it for me, finally.
00:10:11
Speaker
But games like Slay the Spirits stuff, I look at the gameplay and I'm just like, I don't know if I'd get into it. ah So it's I'm still very on the fence about those kind of games just with my personal gaming experience. But who knows? I will probably play this because I loved Vampire Survivors.
00:10:31
Speaker
um So i I'll definitely give it a try, at least. ah We also got another brand new trailer for 007 First Light. ah They also revealed ah that there's going to bunch of cars in the games from like the eras of Bond.
00:10:47
Speaker
And they revealed the Aston Martin Valhalla, which might be a DLC car as that car will drop on March 27th, 2026. I'm just double checking First Light's actual release date.
00:11:02
Speaker
uh again march 26th oh no oh okay so it's coming out a day after the game releases so it'll be like i think it so it might be dlc it might not be uh but it comes out a day after the game is supposed to release ah Roadside Research got brand new trailer. This is the game where you and your friends are a bunch of aliens running a gas station, trying to survey humans and not get caught by the feds.
00:11:29
Speaker
We got a brand new trailer for that, and it's coming out early 2026. ah A game called Total Chaos is out right now. We got a new trailer for Re-Animal. This is from the studio that brought us the Littlest Nightmare, Little Nightmare Games.
00:11:44
Speaker
there And the demo for Re-Animal is out now as well. The game drops February 13th, 2026.
00:11:51
Speaker
We then got a trailer for a game called Erosion. And I want to call this a Sifu-like, where basically every time you die, instead of you aging up like you do in Sifu, the world ages 10 years.
00:12:07
Speaker
ah And that determines the route of the story and the environments that you go to ah That's what is determined.
00:12:17
Speaker
The game comes out next year. we also then got a trailer for Zoo Punk, which is a new action game with animals. And the graphics remind me of that game Fist Forged in Shadow Torch because the animals look like they do in that game.
00:12:35
Speaker
And that that's all I got to say about that. There's no release date for that game yet. Clover Pit is now on out on Xbox and they announced the Unholy Fusion DLC is coming soon.
00:12:46
Speaker
Hitman World of Assassination announced their new elusive target with the event Eminem versus Slim Shady, where Eminem hires you to kill his alter ego, kill Slim Shady, who's a separate person.
00:13:00
Speaker
which is kind of funny, i guess. We also got a show for Tides of Annihilation, which I best could describe as what if Dark Souls had Final Fantasy 16 cinematic bosses?
00:13:13
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know how to feel about that one. And then Raji Kali Yuga, the sequel to Raji, was announced at the very end of the show to wrap things up. And that was the partner show, the partner preview showcase.
00:13:26
Speaker
Do you have any thoughts on any of those games there, Otter? um No, i've i've I've seen some of Dave the Diver. i know I've got some friends that will probably be playing that.
00:13:36
Speaker
it wasn't It wasn't a game I played, but i i did enjoy watching others play it. Yeah, i I want to play Dave the Diver really soon. i just have so many other things I need to get through. But I know I can play it whenever because it is, i think, still on PS Plus ah in the catalog. So I can play it for free when I want, thankfully.
00:13:58
Speaker
ah But yeah, I definitely want to play that eventually. um My big highlight, I would say, is probably Re-Animal, because I know that there's a lot of people excited for what the team behind Little Nightmares has been working on especially since Little Nightmares 3 wasn't worked on but worked on by the same team that did Little Nightmares 1 and 2.
00:14:23
Speaker
It was a different development team that did Little Nightmares 3, as the devs were working on this. So definitely keeping an eye out on that. But that was the Xbox Partner Showcase.
00:14:37
Speaker
ah Like I said, very middle of the road. Nothing super crazy.
Week in Review: Gaming News
00:14:43
Speaker
um If you're like if you' like Vampire Survivors, I think you guys are they're the ones who won the most out of this whole showcase.
00:14:51
Speaker
And yeah, that's that's really all I have like to say on that. But so much more happened in the world of gaming, and we're going to recap it all over these last two weeks with the Week Review.
00:15:05
Speaker
Recapping the major stories of video games and the world of tabletop, looking over recent releases and reports from the Game Lounge crew, it's the Week in Review. And starting it off, some of the major releases in the last two weeks, you had SpongeBob SquarePants, Titans of the Tide, Kirby Air Riders, Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons, Marvel's Deadpool VR, Terrifier, arcade game, and Terminator 2D No Fate.
00:15:31
Speaker
Those are just some of the games that came out in these last two weeks. As for gaming news, starting off, Two Point Museum is back as their second major DLC will be releasing on December second The zoo see them.
00:15:47
Speaker
This is the ability adding the ability to add zoo animals into your museums. or Or if you want, you can just make a zoo ah in the museum game because that is now an option. And this is absolutely crazy. As as i was playing two point museum earlier this year, I said, man, this game is really good. I really hope two point makes like a zoo game next.
00:16:12
Speaker
And while I didn't quite get that, we got this. And I'm not mad. I've been playing the tea the the the teaser content that they released for free for everybody to play.
00:16:24
Speaker
And it's really good. ah what are What are your thoughts on this? Because I know you play a lot of, have been playing Two Point Museum as well, Otter. So what are your thoughts on this? Yeah, so I've been playing Two Point Museum since it it came out.
00:16:38
Speaker
I played hospital, I played campus. ah Two Point Museum was one of the reasons why I wanted to, I got an upgrade on my computer because I was i initially started on just a laptop.
00:16:52
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And so I've been playing it, ah releasing... At one point, it was daily videos, and it's kind of tapered down a bit because I've got other games I want to play.
00:17:03
Speaker
um And now... I'm about once a week, but we're goingnna it's going to be going back up to about two or three times a week. um I actually got a preview key this morning. And so before the this interview, I actually got to play about four hours into Zuzium.
00:17:23
Speaker
Oh, so it's into the full DLC. It is a full DLC. it is ah It's more than the fantasy one and because it does have... i mean, the fantasy had its its own exhibition map, but the Zuzi one also has a new museum map.
00:17:42
Speaker
Yes. yeah way got it done it has it has a ton of of exhibits. They're all in the wildlife. ah you don't You don't blend animals anymore. send them to the shredder as I did so many fish. Ha ha ha! They're like, we we can't do that.
00:18:03
Speaker
So you actually send them to the spa. And I got to say, the spa is adorable. It really is. You send them to the spa and then you keep sending them to the spa and then you keep sending them to the spa until you you you feel like you've got enough ah points that you can then spend on the adoption center from them to then release them back into the wild.
Two Point Museum DLC and Mods
00:18:25
Speaker
Yeah, well, you when you get them from the wild, they'll be they'll sometimes they'll be sick. And so you send them to basically the vet, the welfare center, and you help get them better. And then from there, you can either display them in your zoo or you can set them up for a little spa day. And then you could re-release them back to the wild. You get sanctuary points, which if you played um have you played ah Planet Zoo, it's kind of this very similar mechanic.
00:18:54
Speaker
where then when you release animals to the wild, you get points that you can then spend in an adoption center to get animals that are available.
00:19:06
Speaker
Yes. And if you're picky like me, do not worry. You can adopt exquisite animals from the adoption center. You just got to refresh what you're looking for a couple times.
00:19:18
Speaker
Spend that bit of money, but you can get them. they are bit but They do cost more of those points, but it's well worth it. I've been enjoying just what the teaser is giving us. I am excited to play the full DLC of this when it does release on the second.
00:19:34
Speaker
I'm just thrilled because of this as well. I was like, oh, hey, this lets me do the cyberspace stuff that came out for free because I hadn't done that yet. So I did that, too. And I'm like, man, this game is so good.
00:19:47
Speaker
I wish my one regret with Two Point Museum is I wish I preordered the game to get the Sonic stuff. uh because i i think they they've talked about possibly re-releasing it as like a dlc or something please two point please take it from please i will get i i don't care how much money you charge for it i will give you that money just let me have sonic please i will i'm on my knees I will say that like even though they have like some sonic items that come in like you get a claw machine that you can make in the workshop you have some different statues and some different items there are more sonic items in the mods because I've seen like it and they just up.
00:20:35
Speaker
It is nuts. Like, there's like, cause the, ah the, from what I understand the pre-order is because it was when Sonic and shadow gens came out. So they had a Sonic statue and a shadow statue, a couple gift shop things at the claw machine.
00:20:48
Speaker
with what I've seen in the community store, there's tails, knuckles, eight, essentially every other Sonic character, the community, uh, workshop has you covered.
00:21:00
Speaker
Tails was always my favorite character to play. Like I can remember my sister and I, we were playing, we would play Sonic 3 on Sega. And because Tails could actually fly, and would we would have to get over something. So like i would fly up, reach down, she would jump up, we'd lock hands and I would fly over to wherever we needed to be.
00:21:24
Speaker
and then we would be like, okay, now we're over that obstacle. Let's keep going. Actually playing the co-op as it's supposed to be. That's incredible. yeah well and I liked it because like if tails goes he doesn't so he doesn't you don't like lose the game it's kind of like that perfect younger child key controller character the the perfect sidekick exactly Well, it's it's great. So 2Point, if you're hearing this, please, we will pay you money for the Sonic stuff.
00:21:55
Speaker
People want it. i i was going to pre-order 2Point Museum, but I forgot. And, you know, but but i want I do want the Sonic stuff. As a Sonic fan, please. For me, the pre-order was just a bonus because 2Point, all 2Point said was, we're releasing a game. I'm like, sold. Yeah. yeah don't care what it's about so i'm taking it i was sold on two point after i played campus uh that was my initial introduction into two point i played two point campus i enjoyed it a lot uh they announced two point museum i played through that and then earlier this year two point hospital was free on the epic game store and i'm like oh this is a good reason for me to finally play two point hospital And I liked Hospital, but I definitely... When you... Comparing all of the three games, they just grew and, like, did more with each game that came out.
00:22:51
Speaker
And you can definitely see that in the order of how the games came out. And I'm excited for what 2Point does next. And I hope 2Point... Are you working on... i but i My prediction is two-point theme park, possibly, but I could be wrong.
00:23:07
Speaker
Or, you know, they just go all in and do a zoo on their next game still, and this is just like a teaser of like what they're really cooking.
Notable Game Releases and Updates
00:23:16
Speaker
Continuing in the headlines department, Borderlands 4's first major story DLC, ah How Rush Saved Mercenaries Day, is out now, and it's free for all players.
00:23:30
Speaker
Bloodborne is celebrating 10 years of the game being released, and to celebrate their 10-year anniversary, they're releasing a vinyl. still Still no port into modern hardware for the game, but both Volume 1 and 2 of the Bloodborne vinyl are available for pre-order, and if you want to get both of them, it'll cost you around $100 USD. i always I always get that vinyl is cool and stuff, but it's like...
00:23:59
Speaker
is Bloodborne. People, the Souls fans are hungry for a Bloodborne remake or just a Bloodborne 2 or just something that will make Bloodborne accessible everywhere.
00:24:14
Speaker
They're just hungry for it. ah In Pokemon news, a new Mega Evolution was revealed for Zaraora, which people are comparing to Luxray if Luxray could stand. Or if you're a Digimon fan like me, it looks like a Gammon Digivolution from Digimon Ghost game.
00:24:32
Speaker
I kid you not. That is kind of what it reminds me of. ah Ghost of Yotei received a new game plus update included with it are two brand new trophies and harder difficulty options.
00:24:45
Speaker
In Game Awards news, the developer of Megabonk has withdrawn from the Best Debut Indie nomination slot. He says that as Megabonk isn't his first game, as he has developed games under a different name before. Now people are wondering who Vetinad really is, even though it's kind of obvious because Vetinad is just Danadev, a Norwegian YouTuber who has done game development. the youth He's developed a crab game and muck in the past and we're pretty sure it's him.
00:25:18
Speaker
ah so Yeah, but I got to say though, kudos for acknowledging that, you know, and and owning up to that, that it's like, even if nobody else knew that that's integrity.
00:25:30
Speaker
Yeah, no, absolutely. Hey, this isn't my first one. I'm stepping back out of this one. Absolutely. absolutely Big shout outs because, you know, it's never really been seen before in Game Awards history, somebody doing that. But you know what?
00:25:44
Speaker
kudos Kudos to him. And we wish him luck with future projects and obviously the future development on Megabonk if the game will get free updates and shit like that, too.
00:25:56
Speaker
In Cities Skyline news, the Cities Skyline franchise is going to be under new management following a split between publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Colossal Order.
00:26:09
Speaker
The parting of ways was announced on the Paradox forums, with the publisher sharing that developer Ice Flake Studios will be taking over the game next year.
00:26:21
Speaker
Which is interesting. I haven't played Sea Skylines 2 yet. I played a lot of Sea Skylines 1 for like a good like maybe month-ish.
00:26:33
Speaker
I enjoyed the game. i So I'll be interested to see what what this does for future updates and expansions for Skylines 2. And if that means we're going to get to see Skylines 3 sooner than later, just so we can see what the new developer team will can do.
00:26:53
Speaker
Yeah, I've also got City Skylines, so I'm i'm curious to see what that's going to do to the franchise. ah Yeah, absolutely. More than a year after Sony scrapped Concord, taking the first-person shooter offline, refunding customers, and shutting down Firewalk Studios, the game is now once again playable according to a team aiming to run the game on custom servers.
00:27:19
Speaker
However, sony is threatening lawsuits for this. So ah will this actually come to light? We don't know. If it does, let's hope they don't get sued for the people for like the 12 people who actually liked Concord.
00:27:37
Speaker
But yeah, that's happening. In weird anime news, Disney is working on a Death Stranding anime. Kojima will be serving as the executive producer on the show, tentatively called Death Stranding Isolations, which will stream exclusively on Disney Plus in 2027.
00:28:00
Speaker
i i don't know how I feel about this. i I never thought I would hear the words Disney and Hideo Kojima in the same sentence.
00:28:11
Speaker
So, yeah, Kojima really is an enigma of the gaming world. In Roblox news, it's never good when we're talking about Roblox.
00:28:24
Speaker
CEO David Baszuki is taking heat for a recent podcast interview with the New York Times in which he discussed the platform's new AI-powered age-gating technology.
00:28:36
Speaker
dismissed accusations that Roblox has a predator problem and got into a bit of a high strung back and forth with the interviewer over the company's approach to moderation. He also very worded poorly ah the thing about there being pedophiles on the platform and he worded it very poorly. And it's, I really just shut down Roblox.
00:29:01
Speaker
i I feel like just shutting down Roblox will solve so many issues with the world and this whole thing. Just just just shut it down.
00:29:15
Speaker
Chris Hans is going to make the game unplayable if that thing with him comes out. so Just stop while you're ahead. i like That is that is a whole mess. That is...
00:29:28
Speaker
Three states are suing Roblox currently. More will probably join with how it's going. And if not, more countries.
00:29:39
Speaker
So stay tuned for more updates because we'll be following that story like we did with a lot of other big stories. Uh, it's some good news though. Clarif's score expedition 33 has tied with Baldur's gate three for the most awards won at the golden joysticks with seven awards won.
00:30:00
Speaker
Uh, now the golden joysticks are entirely player based voting. Uh, so that is how this happened. Will expedition 33 sweep at the game awards. We'll find out December 11th.
00:30:15
Speaker
Stardew Valley has teamed up with Among Us to bring a bundle of 29 cosmetics based on Stardew Valley into the sussy little game. so now you can be the farmer or Pierre or Abigail in Among Us.
00:30:33
Speaker
ah In the weirdest film adaptation news, Chains Together is being adapted as a movie. the film is being developed by Anton, uh, the production group behind the 2020 film Greenland and writers, Corey Todd Hughes and Adrian Speckert are a part of the project as well.
00:30:55
Speaker
so So this is, this one's weird because it's just a goofy game being mad at your friend for missing a jump and bringing you both down back to the bottom of hell.
00:31:11
Speaker
And they're going to make a movie out of that. Like, why? You know, right now, all movies that, not all movies, but most movies today that are being made are either remakes of classics or unnecessary sequels. Like, why are you making that into a movie?
00:31:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, there there has, i Hollywood hasn't thought of an original idea in a long time. ah In some sad news, legendary game designer, programmer, Space Invaders champion, and LGBTQ trailblazer Rebecca Heinemann has died at age 62.
00:31:53
Speaker
Heinemann co-founded Interplay in 1983 alongside Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, and Troy Worrell. The developer and publisher was the source of many foundational PC games, including Wasteland, Fallout, and Baldur's Gate.
00:32:09
Speaker
ah she had a total of 67 credits six in game development. Rest in peace, Rebecca. Thank you for your service to the gaming industry. In Nintendo news, Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden 2 The Dark Sword of Chaos are now available on the Nintendo Switch Online n NES catalog, and Bionic Commando and Kid Icarus of Myths and Monsters are now on the Game Boy catalog for NSO.
00:32:38
Speaker
Quantic Dream is in the news as their upcoming MOBA is opening its doors for a closed beta weekend. Spellcaster Chronicles will be holding their closed beta from December 4th to 8th. You can sign up for it through the Spellcaster Chronicles Steam page or their official website.
00:32:55
Speaker
ah Speaking of Steam, the 2025 Steam Award nominations are open. ah So you can vote for what you want to see nominated. And then you'll be able to vote on the games that get nominated in a couple of weeks time.
00:33:08
Speaker
did Did you did you vote? i haven't yet. I like to need to vote. I should. I really need to. ah And ah Nintendo has expanded with a rare acquisition of an outside developer.
00:33:21
Speaker
On the 27th, Nintendo announced it was acquiring Bandai Namco Studio Singapore, the developer reportedly behind the original version of Metroid Prime 4 before Retro Studios took over. The studio is now called Nintendo Studio Singapore.
00:33:37
Speaker
ah So, yeah, those are all the headlines. Moving on to ongoing game news in Final Fantasy 14. I thought a live letter would be happening this week, but I was wrong. The next live letter from the producer will be happening December 5th to talk all things 7.4.
00:33:55
Speaker
In Fortnite Epic Games news, Blackpink's Lisa is headlining the Fortnite Festival Pass for Season 12. And in Blizzard game news, Overwatch 2's new hero Vendetta was revealed and will be releasing in the next season. You can...
00:34:12
Speaker
I think you can still play as her if the trial period is still up. By the time this episode is out, you can still play as her and whatnot. Or or the new season's out by now. I don't know. I don't follow Overwatch. I only cover this stuff because it is video game stuff. I despise Blizzard.
00:34:29
Speaker
um In TCG news, with Pokemon, the next set Mega Evolution Ascended Heroes was announced and will be releasing January 30th. In the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, Phantom Revenge drops December 3rd, The Chronicles decks, Spirit Charmers January 22nd, Burst Protocol on February 5th, Days of Muertos on February 19th, and Legendary Modern decks on March 13th.
00:34:55
Speaker
In Magic the Gathering Avatar, the last airbender set is out now. Lore with Eclipse drops January 23rd. TMNT cards on March 6th. Secrets of Strixhaven in April 26th.
00:35:08
Speaker
Marvel Super Heroes in June of next year. The Hobbit in August. Reality Fracture in October. Star Trek in November. And the new Secret Lair with Monster Undercards releases December first In Lorcanna releases Winter Spell drops February 13th, and Wilds Unknown drops sometime in quarter to 2026.
00:35:30
Speaker
twenty twenty six And in the Digimon TCG, the starter deck Amethyst Mandala drops December 5th, and Time Stranger, cards based off of the brand new Digimon video game, drop January 23rd.
00:35:44
Speaker
And those are all the news and stuff in the week in review. Do you have any final thoughts on any of those stories, Otter? No, I agree. I agree with your statement on Blizzard, though.
00:35:56
Speaker
ah Let's go. ah Anyways, with that all out of the way, it's now time to look ahead at the games coming out. Here is what should be on your radar from December 1st through 12th.
00:36:09
Speaker
From AAA titles, indie hits, hidden gems and hot pieces of garbage. Here are the games coming out that should be on your radar. And starting it off on the 1st of December, Marvel Cosmic Invasion releases on everything.
00:36:23
Speaker
On the 2nd, Assassin's Creed Shadows makes its way to the Switch 2, as does Nicktoons and the Dice of Destiny. Kingdom of the Night comes out on PC, as does Rising Heat. Red Dead Redemption makes its way to the PS5, Series X, Switch 2, and mobile devices. And Samogo Legacy Collection on the Switch 2, Switch, and PC.
00:36:43
Speaker
On the third, Let It Die Inferno comes to the PS5 and PC, and Viewfinder makes its way to the Switch. On the fourth, Blood Refresh Supply comes out on everything but the Switch 2. Cloud High goes into PC Early Access.
00:36:58
Speaker
Cult of the Lamb comes to iOS. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond comes to both Switch ah devices. Octopath Traveler Zero comes out on everything. Power Watch Simulator on iOS.
00:37:09
Speaker
Routine on the Xboxes and PC. Sonic Racing Cross Worlds on the Switch 2. Thief VR a Legacy of Shadow on the PSVR 2. Quest and PC.
00:37:20
Speaker
Doxic Crusaders on everything but the Switch 2. Nothing releasing on the Friday the 5th, but we have a rare Saturday release on the 6th. Rhythm Doctor comes out on the Series X, Xbox One, and PC.
00:37:34
Speaker
On the 8th, Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 comes out on the PlayStation 5. Paralyzed enters PC early access. Skate Story drops on the PS5, Switch 2, and PC.
00:37:45
Speaker
Yakuza 0 Director's Cut comes to the PS5 Series X and PC as well. On the 9th, A Game About Digging a hole goes onto consoles on the PS5 Series X and Switch.
00:37:55
Speaker
Death Howl comes to the PC. dome keeper and thank goodness you're here come to xbox series x farming simulator signature edition comes to the switch to killborg comes to the switch and unbeatable comes to the ps5 series x and pc one thing i want to i want to jump in paralives got postponed Oh, it did? It did. it's i'm um' i looked it that and I'm looking it up now.
00:38:21
Speaker
and they have They postponed it to May 25th of next year. oh wow. That is a big postponement. Well, okay. Forget what I said about Paralives, folks. You'll be waiting another ah ah five ah six months for that one.
00:38:38
Speaker
ah Thank you for that, Otter. Yeah, they they posted it on their Blue Sky account. they have all on that's what That's what I'm looking at. Good to know. On the Montezuma's Revenge, 40th anniversary edition, comes out on everything but the Switch 2 and PC.
00:38:55
Speaker
And Mutant Football League 2 comes to the PS5 Series X and PC. On the 11th, Pioneers of Pagonia comes to the PC. Star Trek Infection comes to the Quest 3 NPC. And Warhammer 40k Rogue Trainer goes to the Switch 2. And lastly, on the 12th, Code Violet comes to the PS5. And Terminator 2, the No Fate, comes out on everything but the Switch 2.
00:39:19
Speaker
ah And that is everything coming out in the next two weeks. ah Some of your big ones. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a big one because it's a brand new side-scroller Marvel beat-em-up.
00:39:31
Speaker
And I know that a lot of people are hyped for us a Marvel beat-em-up, which is dope. Red Dead Redemption, the first one, playable on modern consoles.
00:39:46
Speaker
Very cool. ah Let It Die Inferno. For people who played the original Let It Die on PlayStation 4 and PC, ah it's the sequel. I hope it has another dope J-Rock soundtrack because that's the only thing I remember about the game.
00:40:05
Speaker
Not gonna lie. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, obviously one of the biggest releases, one of the most hyped releases that people have wanted to see in a long time.
00:40:16
Speaker
So please be good. Please be good. Also Octopath Traveler Zero, the third Octopath Traveler game. i still need to play Octopath Traveler 1 and 2. I've heard great things about them, so very exciting to see this one come out.
00:40:34
Speaker
ah Obviously, I still laugh about Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 coming to PlayStation 5 because it just it has Microsoft in the title. And it's is's just funny that it's a Microsoft game on a Sony platform. It's funny.
00:40:52
Speaker
it's It's funny. I've also heard a lot of cool things about Skate Story coming up, so definitely check that out if you're into skateboards. And I believe it follows like a Tony Hawk Pro Skater control scheme from what I have heard.
00:41:10
Speaker
if you're into that, check that out. um And yeah, those are like really the big ones that I'm keeping an eye on. Are you excited or keeping an eye on any of the games coming out in the next two weeks here, Otter?
00:41:24
Speaker
um Well, 2.0. Yes. is that that That was my biggest one on my radar. I'm looking forward to when Hotel Architect finally releases their next update as well, which should include bellhops, but they haven't announced that just yet.
00:41:45
Speaker
Well, good to know. ah Well, that's everything. that's Most things are coming out in the next two weeks. There's obviously so much more that we don't cover because you know stuff stuff drops on Steam all the time from good to garbage. So definitely check out all that stuff as well or just the stuff that you're interested in.
Tycoon and Management Games Discussion
00:42:06
Speaker
ah It's now time for us to dive into our main focus this week.
00:42:10
Speaker
Here is what we're talking about this week.
00:42:15
Speaker
Conversations of past and future games, the state of the gaming industry, how big decisions affect gamers and anything else that's important to us. Here's what's going down this week in the Game Lounge.
00:42:42
Speaker
And we kind of already talked a lot, a bit about it with our with ah the two-point zoozeum coming out very soon, that our first topic is more on these tycoon management type games, as Otter has played so many of them, probably more most likely more than what I have played.
00:43:04
Speaker
ah So Otter, I'm going to ask you first, what is it that got you into the tycoon management genre of games? I think I just liked the kind of the the management element of it, of being able to almost kind of like a puzzle of that resource management of this person is going to be working well here or making money off of different things. Like one of my first games that I played that I remember was theme park.
00:43:37
Speaker
Somewhere I still have the CD-ROM for it. um it It's probably next to my Kotar CD.
00:43:46
Speaker
Which is next to my Neverwinter Night CD. and So basically all the CDs just have like this monthly book club that they don't invite you to.
00:43:58
Speaker
Exactly. i don't know where they're i don't know where they are, but they're i i wouldn't I would not have gotten rid of them. They're somewhere. and And when she finds them, guys, we we we will update. ah like Actually, i i I recently found, okay, so when you bought CD-ROM games, they also came with like a book that walked you through like how to, like basically like your tutorial.
00:44:26
Speaker
Yeah. That have like pictures and stuff. I recently came across my SimCity 3000 book. Wow. I have the original Pharaoh book that Pharaoh has now has recently re-released Pharaoh, a new era, but I have the original Pharaoh and the one that's currently on steam. I think they combine it with Cleopatra, I think.
00:44:51
Speaker
Okay. Okay. i'm I've never played the Cleopatra portion of it. I've always played the the Pharaoh.
00:45:00
Speaker
But it's just, i mean, it's ancient Egypt. Yeah, it is. And you know what they have in ancient Egypt when you're the Pharaoh? The Shadow Realm. but Yeah, so one of my favorite ones was ah Theme Park, not to be confused with Sim Park, which was another one that I played, ah which was where you managed.
00:45:22
Speaker
You had this frog and it was kind of like your little sidekick that helped you out. And he was so annoying, too, because he was like, hey, hey, I need i need to talk to you about he's like Clippy. He's like the Clippy of the Sim World. Clippy. oh the The Sim World's Clippy is a frog. Gotcha.
00:45:41
Speaker
Are we sure it's just it wasn't Clippy getting cursed to turn into a frog? You know, it might be.
00:45:49
Speaker
Embody the spirit of Clippy. And it was just every time you had something, he but hey you you need to, I've got something that needs to be addressed. And then ah my sister and I would always joke because it's like you would have, because you would control, like you would plant different plants and you were basically creating like a ah ah like a national park. Oh, okay. yeah Like a wildlife park. And you planted the plants and that increased where the animals would then come.
00:46:17
Speaker
Kind of like horticulture, the the game Horticulture. Where you put stuff down and it and entices different animals to come in. Okay, gotcha. Okay. And the only thing I remember about it is like you would have this one plant that was... like You would have too many deer come in because I think you could also release the animals in.
00:46:39
Speaker
but you would have like grass and it would just be like, he is dead. His species was overeaten. It's just the one catchphrase that I remember from it. It's just, yeah.
00:46:53
Speaker
And here I was as a young lad playing rollercoaster tycoon and zoo tycoon. Oh, I played those two. yeah I feel like you you you have so much more of like this just diverse backlog of all these sim games you played. I'm just like, I've never even heard of like half of these.
00:47:12
Speaker
as You see, that's what I like about this is I get to learn along with some of the audience members who may not know this stuff either. what yeah What do you think, what was your first Sim Tycoon management game? What was the first one? It was probably like Theme Hospital.
00:47:30
Speaker
So for me, playing Two Point Hospital was just, it's like going back to my childhood. That's really cool. that's That's a really cool, like, parallel of, like, a hospital being the first ah one that you played, and then Two Point comes along, releases a hospital for their first game, and it's reliving that. That's really cool, actually. Yeah.
00:47:54
Speaker
i which not that Ironically enough, Two Point Hospital is not the one I have the most hours in ah The next one I have the most hours in is actually, i think, campus. How many hours do I have in campus? I have 329 hours in campus. Holy! i have hours in museum.
00:48:16
Speaker
wow and i think hospital i'd have to search it up hospital i have almost eighty wow that is such a difference holy shit but part of it is that i never really i i played hospital but i never i don't think i really had the time to necessarily play it and then they had all those expansions and i would try to play it and it's one of those that you can play a level and i think i would just play like one star and try to move on to the next one yeah oh god yeah
00:48:53
Speaker
In Two Point Campus, i played it I've played it the entire way through. and the School Spirits, which I just released those videos this year, that's the first time I've actually beaten School Spirits.
00:49:04
Speaker
But the rest of the game, the the base game for campus and the medical school and the um the space academy, i had actually played those all before I started my channel and beaten them all before I started my channel.
00:49:20
Speaker
And so since I covered them on my channel, I have now played and beaten them twice. okay. That explains a large amount of hours. I'm still about halfway through recording...
00:49:34
Speaker
ah the space, and then I've got to do them the medical one. I've actually found having a having a channel kind of forces me to be a little bit better because rather than just being like, I can take my time, I'm not...
00:49:51
Speaker
You're actually, it's like you're treating it more like the challenge and doing it within the time. I'm i'm doing it more of the challenge. I'm focusing on the objectives and i'm I'm vocalizing my strategies of how I'm reaching those objectives and some of the little tips and tricks that I've figured out along the way.
00:50:13
Speaker
Oh, And and that's that's really cool. um what you When you play these games in your off time, like, obviously you do so much at the scenario mode. Do you ever do like dabble with the sandbox mode at all to like, just like build what you want and and just having free roam?
00:50:34
Speaker
Like what are your thoughts on sandbox modes within these sim games? i I like the sandbox. ah i I recently played on my Twitch channel. um I played some, ah I played two point in the two point museum on the sandbox level.
00:50:52
Speaker
But part of that was because it was the only achievement that I was still missing. And I got that achievement and then they released a new DLC that introduced more achievements. So now I'm back to like 88%. That's funny. I'm like, now I've got more achievements. But I was at 100% and I have picture proof of it because I took a picture of it.
00:51:12
Speaker
Let's go. That's all that matters at the end of the day. It was on my thumbnail for that week. That's ah that's awesome. They're also very funny that the last thing to do you get done is the sandbox mode.
00:51:26
Speaker
I'm the kind of guy where like, when when I played Museum and when I played Academy, I did a scenario mode obviously to learn like the ins and outs of the game because it also does act as the game's tutorial um with usually the first...
00:51:40
Speaker
two to three scenarios to teach you the ins and outs of like the basics and whatnot. Uh, I basically did that. And I'm like, okay, I'm, I'm good. I think I can figure out the rest from here. And I just jumped into sandbox mode and made a museum. My main file is three museums. The first museum is essentially every exhibit except one science exhibits.
00:52:10
Speaker
That's like at max exquisiteness. It has done like so much. It's massive. I maxed out staff and shit like that. ah And my second museum on the save file is the fantasy DLC and also the ah dredge vampire survivors and meat wizard stuff.
00:52:33
Speaker
And then my third, ah the new museum that they added is the third one I'm doing on the save file to do all the zoo stuff. which Which museum did you pick to do fantasy on? Oh, God. It's the so I did.
00:52:47
Speaker
So with the main the main with the my first one, I think I did Memento Mile because that's the main like just like the basic museum that you start with. The second one, i did it on the God, what's it called?
00:53:03
Speaker
It was the other like city map. God, I don't... Peverly... Not Peverly, yeah. Passwater Cove? Yes, that sounds right.
00:53:15
Speaker
Passwater Cove is the the marine one. oh No, no, it wasn't Passwater Cove. it was it It was... God. There was like no exhibits in the in the starting museum.
00:53:26
Speaker
i I think you had to... No, I don't think you had to build build the building. But there was like nothing in the building. It's basically just like a straight line for like all the zones that when you unlock all the zones, it's just like a rectangle ah by the end of it all.
00:53:43
Speaker
Oh, God. i am is all Are you talking about Pointy Mountain? Pointy Mountain's up in the up up in the Arctic. Passwater Cove is the the the fish.
00:53:56
Speaker
ah You have Bungle Wasteland, which is kind of a deserty area. and that was the science. You have Wayland Lodge, which is the supernatural. ah Memento Mile, I think, is the only one that remember that I can think of that is actually a city.
00:54:13
Speaker
And then you've got hiberly Peverly Heights, which is the space. ah i am i'm trying get and And then you've got the you've got some of the pop-up museums, ah but you would have to really do those in um and Sandbox. Because you you can access the the pop-up museums in the Sandbox.
00:54:37
Speaker
you know It was a pop-up museum. It was County Archives. Okay, yeah. That one is the security pop-up. I usually do that with... The first thing I do is I pull out one of the exhibits, put it on the ground so it doesn't get put to inventory because that will injured say that will end your playthrough.
00:54:58
Speaker
And then you um delete the rest of the building and then consolidate everything so that your security guys... have a very small area to handle and then you can get everything you need done relatively easy.
00:55:17
Speaker
Yeah. I, that's what I just turned it into the fantasy museum for my, uh, uh, sandbox file. I'm, I'm very simple when it comes to this stuff. It's like, i don't need to do the, the, the campaign, the scenario stuff. I'm just content playing this stuff in sandbox and fucking around.
00:55:37
Speaker
you're yeah And you're talking about sandbox. There is one game that I have played pretty much exclusively in sandbox and that's Subnautica. Oh God. and I just, I don't want, I don't like grindy games and it just, it feels like it's, it's, you need to go and hunt for this and this to make this, to craft. Yeah.
00:56:00
Speaker
And it's just that as element of it as like, I wouldn't mind doing the story. I just don't want to do grind. Yeah. Yeah, no, that's fair. I get that, especially for a game of, like, Subnautica. Like, look, if you just gave me the ability to, i don't know, build my... i would be I am one of those people who kind of does have philosophobia, where it's like, well, I'm going to build my underwater base, and we're just going to build my base to the next location that I got to go. Unlimited resources, let's go! Yeah.
00:56:31
Speaker
i I got Subnautica for the explicit purpose of I want to have a VR system and I want to play it in VR. Oh. And I have Thessalophobia. and why Why would you do that to yourself?
00:56:43
Speaker
Because it's fun. ah ha ha ha I actually i went I went snorkeling when I went to visit and some family in Hawaii and I actually saw a turtle underwater and it was like it freaked me out because it was just I wasn't expecting to see anything that big.
00:57:03
Speaker
but and i mean, at least it was only just like a turtle. Yeah, could have been like a lot worse. and I mean, the turtle was still was still big, but one of the things I do when I think about like fossilophobia is I try to picture like, okay, if you tell me that this shark is like 10 feet, I visualize ah at ah point in my house like, okay, one of the walls in my bedroom is 10 feet.
00:57:36
Speaker
Oh. So if you tell me a, like the, I think it's a leopard seal is like nine is like three meters long. I think. yeah that i'm well um i might I might be wrong, but that's like literally the length of my bedroom.
00:57:52
Speaker
ahha When I think about the size of a great white shark up to the maximum, I think the biggest one has been like, like they average about like, I think like 18 to 20 feet.
00:58:03
Speaker
That's the length of my garage. ah So when you put it in that perspective of something that you can actually visualize, you're like... It's it's just worse.
00:58:14
Speaker
Yeah. It's worse! But that's that's the thing that... that And then then when you get into Thessalophobia, it's... You don't know if that speck that you see, that shadow, you can't tell if it's something that's like two feet...
00:58:33
Speaker
Or 20 feet, because there's no scale out there. Well, okay. Like an angler fish can be one feet to about four feet. That's not too bad of a, oh, actually, no, that is a bit of a jump, but that's not too bad of a jump.
00:58:49
Speaker
That's only have a three foot jump. but Yeah, but you've you've got basically hobbit sized fish out there.
00:59:02
Speaker
Yeah. That is that terrifying. Yeah. Well, when you do play some not okay VR, I wish you the best of luck. Uh, cause, uh, you're braver than most. I think I've got to got to go meet Sammy, the safety reaper, right?
00:59:19
Speaker
That do. Uh,
00:59:21
Speaker
that you do ah Continuing back on the Tycoon games, what are some of your favorites that you've played just overall that you haven't listed yet?
00:59:34
Speaker
um I know some of my favorites have been, i was going through it like all my lists of stuff. um Hotel Architect has been an amazing game that I've loved, and that's still in early access.
00:59:48
Speaker
ive I believe if I'm correct, I'm going to double check. I have seen this game on Steam. Yes. It is the one that I am thinking of. Oh, wait, it may not be the one I'm thinking of. at Absolute chaos. Oh, this is not the one that I am thinking of.
01:00:04
Speaker
ah tell Tell me more about Hotel Architect. What what drew you to this one? So Hotel Architect, I found out last year they were doing play tests and I was like, you know, hey, play test equals free game.
01:00:21
Speaker
And it seemed like right up my alley. And they even, to to put it in perspective, it is almost like if you could analyze it, it sometimes gets, and I think I've actually referred to it once by mistake as two point hotel.
01:00:39
Speaker
Oh, really? So it's like it's up there on like that kind of par. Yeah. And I think it was earlier this year they had a kind of a friendly rivalry I it was on Twitter where they ended up doing like Hotel Architect was like.
01:01:00
Speaker
Well, we've weve were but we've been told that we compare ourselves, that we've people have been comparing us to the Two Point games. And Two Point was like, oh really? And so they had it where they're like we're they bought each other's games to play and to compare. And then they ended up posting like the the meme of the Spider-Men pointing to the other Spider-Men.
01:01:24
Speaker
ha because like they are there. mean, they are two completely different art styles, but they're both that chaos, that kind of that chaos element,
01:01:36
Speaker
I would probably consider it closer to maybe Two Point Hospital, not Two Point Museum because Two Point Museum has like the... Yeah, it's like Two Point Museum is so like unique compared to the other two Two Point games.
01:01:49
Speaker
Yeah, kind of like maybe like Two Point Hospital, Two Point Campus. ah that one That one's been really big. ah Timberborn's come out in 1.0. What is Timberborn?
01:02:02
Speaker
Timberborn is a survival city builder with beavers. I'm Beavers. Beavers. You are playing a colony of beavers. They have in ah in the base game, there are mods that have extended to other ones. You have the Iron Teeth, which are kind of more of a... They deal more with technological...
01:02:28
Speaker
um They actually have like little beaver bots. And then you have and they do like they have some kind of a teleportation. um I've tried to get into it and I just I haven't had time.
01:02:44
Speaker
And then story of my life. I am looking at this game's trailer right now. And this is, thought it's like, oh like a little beaver city. No, this looks like a modern city. And the beavers are building this and running this.
01:03:03
Speaker
this What? it is a It is a post-apocalyptic where basically the the the toxicity of Earth or the planet has been overtaken.
01:03:15
Speaker
and so you can have bad tides that come in and they can make your beaver sick. And so you've got so you've got to build your city up and at the same time...
01:03:28
Speaker
control the bad tides and it gets to the point where you're actually able to harness it and you're using it to get like minerals from the bad water that can go in to make other things huh so it's it's a fun game now question is there a mod to turn you into an otter There is not. Well, I think someone has to change that for your sake, obviously.
01:03:58
Speaker
I i had had a mod that unfortunately ah doesn't work right now, but there was a mod that allowed you to change that would have like your names come up and then be able to change it. So I would actually have one that my name would come up and my the it would make the the beaver blue.
01:04:19
Speaker
no.
01:04:22
Speaker
ah And in going back to Hotel Architect, you can actually, one of the things that you can do is you can actually make your own characters. So I actually do have my own characters on my games ah in the description of each one of those games. I've actually gotten to the point where I just have a, I have a Word document that links to a Google, it's a Google Drive document.
01:04:43
Speaker
that I just list out all the characters that I've made. So if any of my characters you want to add to your games, all you have to do is, is copy and paste that code into the import and you can play with my characters and I can visit your hotel.
01:04:57
Speaker
That's really cool. That is really, really cool. Uh, what about, uh, some tycoons games that you've tried, but didn't quite enjoy? ah One game that I tried, i was like and sometimes it's just a matter that ah it's just not a it's not that it's a bad game, it's just it's a game that i it was not for me. Yeah.
01:05:22
Speaker
And one of them was that I really liked certain aspects of it, but it just was, um let's build a dungeon.
01:05:33
Speaker
Oh, yes, I have heard of this one i I really liked when... yeah it took me a little bit to understand how to actually build the dungeon. i think I actually had to play it like two times, two or three times before i finally it finally clicked of how to do that.
01:05:51
Speaker
um But then it got into the you're not really building a dungeon... you're game manufacturer that's building an MMO.
01:06:06
Speaker
Right. Yes. And I was, I loved it until it reached that. And then it became a, but like one of your coworkers is trying to sabotage your game. And I'm like, yeah the it can't, it went from being a game about building a dungeon and creating this atmosphere to office politics. Yeah.
01:06:31
Speaker
And I was like, that was a line that I just, it it crossed it. If I want to play office politics, I can go to work. Yeah.
01:06:42
Speaker
Yeah. And I don't do that there either. that's all Yeah, that's definitely that could definitely sour the mood for a game.
01:06:53
Speaker
ah But part of it is is I've been trying to... Because ah Dungeon Tycoon was a game I played last year. And I've been trying to find a game... Dungeon Tycoon did really well on my channel.
01:07:04
Speaker
And i still... It's one of my top one of my top videos in that series. And I've been trying to find a game that could capture that element.
01:07:15
Speaker
And... I still haven't found a game, but I found one that was kind of close. it was It's a roguelike game that's only out in demo right now called Minos.
01:07:27
Speaker
M-I-N-O-S. And you it's kind of a dungeon builder. But you play a Minotaur and you're manipulating a Labyrinth and then you have these waves of adventures coming in and you're just trying to defeat them.
01:07:44
Speaker
Oh, that's really cool. I'm looking at this trailer right now. This is actually a really cool idea. yeah ah It's a roguelike. And I like the fact that you can't, there's a lot of different options in the settings that you can, like you can do where it,
01:07:59
Speaker
When you defeat the last one, it'll it'll go right and it'll zoom into your character, into the Minotaur. You can also turn off the gore if you don't want the gore in there.
01:08:12
Speaker
And then even if you go in, because it's a roguelike, you get to build up your skills and that plays in into your next playthrough. So you also have like a adventure tree that you're going through and you have this one or this location type and then you can choose the next location between two. you have like two choices to go through.
01:08:36
Speaker
And you're trying to get down to the bottom of the of the trail, basically. ah And it it becomes that becomes it gets a little bit of a roguelike and dungeon builder.
01:08:50
Speaker
oh And i was like oh I liked that one. That one was kind of cool. And of course, ah published by Devolver Digital, ah which is a very good sign for a game as well.
01:09:03
Speaker
to have Devolver backing it as the publisher.
Gaming Styles and Recommendations
01:09:07
Speaker
Devolver's also published games like Loop Hero, which is a fantastic roguelike where you go in loops as an adventurer and build the path as you go and what events can happen and whatnot. And so this this seems really cool.
01:09:25
Speaker
ah I would definitely check this out ah if I had the time. Time is always the... Yeah, that's that's the big thing is that always comes down to is time. There's never enough of it to play every game that we want to play.
01:09:41
Speaker
there's There's just never enough time. Yeah, absolutely. How would you say 2025 was for the tyco sim game genre
01:09:53
Speaker
um I think it went pretty well. um I've, like I said, my mind is or my playthroughs have mostly been with um Two Point Museum.
01:10:06
Speaker
ah But we've also had things like Tavern Keepers come up. Parkitect came out with a new DLC. see that's ah I tried Parkitect earlier this year.
01:10:19
Speaker
you know I didn't care for Parkitect a whole lot. And I think that's just me and my bias of liking the style and the more simplicity that Rollercoaster Tycoon offered, I think. I paired i can understand that because Parkitect is very, very modular building. I'm more of the player that I just like, I'm going to pick a piece and I'm just going to plop it down.
01:10:46
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. i i were If you were looking for someone to honestly go and build the Taj Mahal of designs, my channel is probably not the one you're following.
01:10:59
Speaker
um But I'm more for practical, let's get it done, let's show how it works. ah Also, speaking of like hidden gems that I'm on the on the lookout for, in one of the discussions in Megaquarium on Steam, the dev said something about that they had plants coming up that they couldn't talk about, but i i suspect there's something going to be something new for Megaquarium in the future.
01:11:32
Speaker
hopefully in your future uh and of course you also had a jurassic world evolution 3 drop earlier this year as well i've been playing i was playing ah one in anticipation before it and then when three dropped i've also i picked up three and i've been playing that one as well that that's a lot of fun and Again, and there's a lot that you can do where you... I don't know how people manage to do that. Again, I'm one of those people like, I'm going to take the the Innovation Center and I'm just going to plop it down.
01:12:05
Speaker
I don't think about what else can i can I build around this to change it up and what it looks like. I'm just like, I'm just going to put it down. no that i I definitely feel that. i think I've seen people do crazy things in the Jurassic World games. I'm like...
01:12:21
Speaker
Well, they clearly have the different kind of autism that I don't have. Uh... Because that's not my... My autism is a different coded flavor than what they've got, but good for them.
01:12:36
Speaker
ah for What are some ah recommendations you would give to somebody who doesn't play sim games, tycoon games on the regular? What are some like recommendation game recommendations to give them for somebody who wants to get into the genre?
01:12:53
Speaker
I'd say if you want like a really simple, easy game, this is one recommendation that I would like. or that i It's not really necessarily like a tycoon, ah but one game that I highly recommend playing, even if it's just something you're going to play, Plant Therapy.
01:13:12
Speaker
It is an amazing game. It's just a simple game of you go to the store, you get a plant, you put it in your apartment, the plant gives off gems, you collect the gems, it gives you money, you go and rinse for Pete.
01:13:28
Speaker
But you go in and the next thing you know, it's like three hours later. And it's available on Apple and it's available on Android. And it's free.
01:13:39
Speaker
And it's free. The base game is free. All of the DLCs are very affordable. You can get like full all the DLCs for maybe 20, 30 bucks. Especially now. Especially if they're on sale now too. Yeah, yeah. And they're on sale right now.
01:13:57
Speaker
like And they go on sale regularly. The goth pack is 64 cents. Yeah. Goth pack, if you like anything that's goth related, that one's really good.
01:14:09
Speaker
Oh my god. That's that's that's fun that's that's really cool. there's a lot there's I'm just looking at the names of the the DLCs. ah There's a plush and pots pack. Dog art?
01:14:22
Speaker
ah There's a dog art, cat art, Oh my goodness. A coloring book? They have a coloring book. They also have, I believe, the... like, I've got all the DLC. I could just look at we'll get my DLC on this. ah Tropical Dreams is really cool. ah Some of them add new...
01:14:45
Speaker
new apartments in there. oh okay. And I believe Park Place is the newest one. It gives the largest Yes, Park Place came out earlier this year. Yeah.
01:14:56
Speaker
It's also the most expensive DLC after Coney Island. But it does Coney Island also adds a new apartment. Okay. So that's probably why that's price point.
01:15:09
Speaker
And the same devs are currently working on two other games. ah Plush Rangers, where you get all the little plushies that are in plant therapy, get to go on adventures into a roguelike type game.
01:15:23
Speaker
And they have another creature collection coming out called Creep Tank, which is a fish collection game. Oh, same devs, same. And it's just, it's like this little group of like, I think there three or four of them of the dev team. So it's a very small dev team.
01:15:43
Speaker
Hotel architect only has eight. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I mean, shout outs to those small teams because they they're making labors of love to people. So yeah, absolutely.
01:15:56
Speaker
That's really cool. ah definitely check out any of that's a, that's a great, that's a, there's it with it being free. That's like a really great, like just starting point. um One of my recommendations since we is staying on the free topic.
01:16:11
Speaker
um I would highly recommend RCT.com. after the conversation we had a couple weeks ago with Dino Nation, the world record speedrunner for Roller Coaster Tycoon speedruns.
01:16:25
Speaker
Open RCTs are basically a free program that is the entirety of Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 and 2 and all of their expansions in one place with quality of life changes like being able to speed up time and a couple other things with decorations and railroads and stuff like that as well.
01:16:46
Speaker
ah So that's my recommendation for a good starting point because it's a classic and it's just slightly better. ah Well, with that... Is there anything else you would like to add about the tycoon management games before we jump into our second topic of the day?
01:17:02
Speaker
i think that's about it. I mean, there's there's so many games that I play that sometimes they just mush all together. ah not not and not in a bad way. It's just like, what I play? I feel that. I absolutely feel that. It's like when someone asks you, well, what did you have for dinner last night? I don't know, food? Yeah.
01:17:27
Speaker
yeahive Yeah, I get that. subto I completely understand. Well, with that, then it's time for us to dive into our second topic of the day. Todd, buddy.
01:17:41
Speaker
Why? no one asked for this. What you gave us also broke everything. You even took the song away from us. just Just give us what we want and we will pay you money for it.
01:17:56
Speaker
Please, please, please, please give the Oblivion treatment to New Vegas. That's all we want. Sound good? Okay, great. Thanks. And that topic, because this is the last regular episode of the podcast, as in two weeks' time, we will be reviewing the Game Awards and doing our year-end special, as we usually do. This is our last regular episode, so I felt like... So it makes sense that, hey, let's just talk about some of the other games that we played in 2025. And you had brought up that this year now, you have now played... ah
01:18:35
Speaker
just over or around 100 different demos, ah Otter. Yeah, ah hold on one second. I can... Because I keep all my games in a spreadsheet.
01:18:49
Speaker
Oh, beautiful. I love that. I do the same thing. Spreadsheets make the world go round, right? They do. oh my God, they do.
01:19:00
Speaker
So if i I do that and then...
01:19:04
Speaker
Remove my duplicates. Has a header row. Yeah, so according to that, I have played 119 different games.
01:19:19
Speaker
And that includes stuff that comes that's coming out next month as well. Wow. And that is just this year alone. That is just this year. This is my second year on the channel.
01:19:30
Speaker
Wow, that is incredible. ah You have me beat for games played. I'm only at 101 currently, and I'm like probably hitting 105 by the end of the year. Realistically, will say things like that are things like.
01:19:50
Speaker
Two Point Museum counts as one game. How many hours have I put? put in almost 400 hours to that one. And then versus like, let me see if I can't find one. ah Let's see, one that was a ah puzzle game, My Tiny Landscape.
01:20:10
Speaker
played one I played the demo for that one one game so any anywhere in the loop but Deluvian winds I played and um I think there were I think there was five episodes So, I mean, it's it it can range from anywhere from one to Actually, Two Point Museum, I ah recently had it its centennial video.
01:20:40
Speaker
Oh, wow. So I've had over 100 videos of that. Now, it's it's like when you look at the actual episode number, it's like 78. But... but um
01:20:54
Speaker
you also got to take into account that fantasy finds kind of deviated from that. And that was another, that was 27 episodes. Oh yeah. So that's basically a hundred fantasy finds.
01:21:05
Speaker
So yeah, it was just kind of like a, we're going to separate this and it's going to be its own playlist. It's going to be its own thing, but we're going to be going back into the main campaign and be adding these into the other museums.
01:21:19
Speaker
Yeah. Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, that's, that's ah yeah, my classifications for the games that I've played, i only wrote them down if I played them for longer than three hours.
01:21:34
Speaker
Because because I've done, this is now like the third year that I've now calculated how many I've played. I've played in a year. Instead of just like, oh, what were my top 10 games I played this this year? I actually like fully have been tracking it.
01:21:51
Speaker
And it's 15 games are repeats I've played from older years. And I basically just played it again. 42 games I played that did not come out this year, but I played it for the first time.
01:22:04
Speaker
And then 44 games I have played that came out this year. Those are my like official stats for the year ah that I had. ah What were some of your other favorites and least favorites from your list of games that you played this year?
01:22:25
Speaker
Yeah, you were talking about the I love the Steam achievements too or the Steam replay. 68 games last year.
01:22:35
Speaker
618 achievements unlocked last year. Wow. That's a lot. That's a lot. o That is a I have no life level. What was...
01:22:48
Speaker
and what what were what was your question again my least favorites yeah yeah what were some of your favorites and least favorites um for for games that you have that you played this year like exclusively obviously excluding two-point museum because we have we have gushed so much about that game we've covered that one we we've covered it yeah just insert that two-point museum is going to be in Two Point Museum will probably be near the top of Otter's top 10 list.
01:23:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. um Some of my least favorites. Okay, so that 119 actually doesn't include the games that I played that I never put onto the channel.
01:23:29
Speaker
Okay. Oh, wow. Okay. So it's... cause there are There are times that i'll play a I'll play a demo or I'll play something and be like, yeah, this isn't going to...
01:23:40
Speaker
i can't play I can't play this on my channel. Yeah. um and There was one that and And there are some that I like. I just didn't want to put them on my channel.
01:23:50
Speaker
ah There was a Green New Deal simulator that I played that I liked. ah But... I felt that it was a little too political. to... And two and i that was one thing is like, I didn't really want to put it onto my channel because I felt like it... i mean, Green New Deal, yeah.
01:24:09
Speaker
But... I just felt like it was going to be a little too political. Oh yeah. Especially with how political 2025 has been. Understandable.
01:24:20
Speaker
I was like, i just, I didn't, I didn't want to go there. um There are some games that and Escape Simulator 2 and ah King of Retail 2, I played both of those demos and i just, I preferred the first one.
01:24:43
Speaker
Okay.
01:24:46
Speaker
Okay. So, I mean, i'm I'm not faulting them for wanting to do a second love a second or a sequel. i just felt like the first one did it better. Yeah. were my For my experience.
01:25:01
Speaker
ye that Valid. Valid opinion.
01:25:06
Speaker
i I've never played... I have i haven't played Escape... I've played Escape Academy. i haven't played a Escape Simulator yet.
01:25:17
Speaker
Yeah, I think I've got all the DLC for Escape Simulator, the first one. Wow.
01:25:24
Speaker
Not bad, not bad. ah What about games that like don't fall under the tycoon management sim genre? ah do Do you do you the deviate from that a lot, or...?
01:25:39
Speaker
Well, I consider myself actually a variety gamer, which is why I've got like Duck Detective, Mega Quarriam, ah Galaxy Burger, or other ones that I've got. I'm looking at the list of some of the ones that I've got in my folder. Here's a question for you. Which Duck Detective do you prefer of between the two games that are currently out for it?
01:26:01
Speaker
um like both of them. I like i like both of them too. i but i I liked the first one because I think it was also a little bit longer.
01:26:13
Speaker
But I think the second one really added and new added some um some more story and some more like universe lawre Yeah.
01:26:24
Speaker
i see the And it kind of small spoiler, it kind of ended on a cliffhanger. And it's like, okay, it it left me where like, both and to both times I had played the demo.
01:26:37
Speaker
And both times I've gotten really into it. And it's like, but you're gonna have to wait until the till the release because this is just the demo. And I'm like, dang it, they did it again. Every single
Puzzle Games and Indie Adventures
01:26:48
Speaker
time. i'm just like They did it the first time and I was just like, oh.
01:26:52
Speaker
And then so I played it the second time. I completely forgot that I was playing a demo. And then at the end of the the second one, then it was just like there's there's something that happens. I'm i i not going to give that spoiler.
01:27:07
Speaker
ah But I mean, like I didn't play the whole game on my channel. ah But And that game is also, Dope Detectives are also available on Apple and Google Play, I believe. Yes, they are both available on mobile devices.
01:27:26
Speaker
Me personally, I think the the puzzle of the first game is a lot better because you have to really think a lot more. Whereas the second one, it's a lot more simpler for the puzzle. But the dialogue in the second one is a lot better, strictly because of Freddy's being your stupid I love Freddy actually that that when I was talking about that I've got characters from Duck Detective I think I have the I think it's a makeshift but I've also they had these little ah figures of they're these little acrylic figures that stick into like this little standy system and one of them's got um the alligator like I can be your assistant and then it's got the Duck Detective saying the toast helps me to forget the those which oh by the way don't seed ducks bred it's really bad for them they would do better with seeds yeah except for the duck detective he's uh addicted to this stuff yeah he's addicted to it but still helping him it's really bad for ducks yeah
01:28:28
Speaker
but ah ah ah Yeah. No, Duck Detective, definitely. It was a fun game. It didn't reach my top 10, unfortunately, but i i I love the Duck Detective games. There's a couple of other games. I'm trying to find what they were that I played that also kind of had that same...
01:28:48
Speaker
um You have words and you've got to build them. You've got to find the word. yeah And one of them that i played was The Case of the Worst Day Ever.
01:29:00
Speaker
And there was another one that was un forensic felines was another one that I played. I will say one of ah my favorite puzzle games, it didn't come out this year, but I played it for the first time this year that I played, was The Root Trees Are Dead.
01:29:15
Speaker
i got to play that this year. And probably one of my favorite puzzle mystery games of all time now. I really, really like how that game is put together and how you solve basically a family tree.
01:29:35
Speaker
It's really, really cool. And it made me play ah because of that. I played all of that. And then I'm like, oh, yeah, I've heard Return of the Obra Din is very much like that.
01:29:47
Speaker
And I play Return of the Obra Din. I'm like, oh, this is like 10 times harder than the root trees are dead. What the fuck? And that that game made my brain hurt a bit.
01:30:00
Speaker
Yeah, sometimes it's really good to have games that force you to think. And then sometimes it's like, I don't want to have to think. I just want to click a button.
01:30:11
Speaker
what would How much do you say, would you think that you spent money on video games this year? Like, just like a rough estimate. How much money do you think you spent on games this year? Well, I gotta think about how many games I actually bought.
01:30:24
Speaker
um I know just for this year, like I bought Jurassic World Evolution 3. I bought the um Two Point Museum. Those were, I think, the two big purchases.
01:30:39
Speaker
A lot of the games that I played, and I'm trying to go back and look to see if there was any of them that I've actually paid for, ah Some of them... Alright, Luma Island I paid for, but that was last year. i had like a couple of extra episodes that I recorded.
01:30:55
Speaker
um That was a matter that I just... I played... There was one temple that I just got really mad at, and I had to take a break and step away from the game, and I just haven't had a chance to get back to it.
01:31:07
Speaker
A lot of them are games that I had either bought in previous years. It was just sitting in the backlog. They're just sitting in my backlog. I mean, like, how many games do you have that you've bought and then just, like, never played?
01:31:20
Speaker
I had a lot. Like, last year was my backlog year, and last year alone I played 165 games because I was going through my backlog. Like, case in point for Subnautica, if you go on to achievements, global achievements, getting your feet wet, dive in for the first time,
01:31:43
Speaker
Like that's the whole corporate purpose of the game is is that you've got to jump into the water at some point. Yeah. You do it like first thing. It's when you've launched the game and step out of the pod. I think i think it's part of it is if you go into the the thing and on and the at the bottom of the the life pod, that doesn't count as diving in.
01:32:07
Speaker
Oh. no its Or at least that's what I've heard. But at the same time,
01:32:14
Speaker
it's like how many people have not done the the single thing that the game has you do is go into the water?
01:32:28
Speaker
a lot it's ah Well, compar comparatively, it's a lot more than you would think. Yeah, and that and there's so many people that like they buy the game and then they just never get to it.
01:32:39
Speaker
I've got games that I bought because they were on sale and I wanted to play them, never had a chance to. Or haven't had chance to. And I'm working on that. That's where i'm I'm, I'll record some games in the background and because they're old, they've, I miss that hype window.
01:32:59
Speaker
So I'm like, what's the difference of if I put it out next week or if I put it out in two months? Yeah, no, that's a fair argument of when to place something like that. I can hold it in my drafts for two months, and then if I need to take a break, when I went on vacation, was like, I emptied out all my drafts. All my drafted videos that were just sitting up there.
01:33:24
Speaker
Yeah. it's it's that It's definitely good to have drafts for for that kind of thing. And then I got home and got sick because I went through about four season changes in like two weeks. ah Between where I live, at it's temperate. So I went from temperate summer to tropical summer back to temperate summer, temperate fall, temperate summer.
01:33:51
Speaker
Because we go through about a month where Texas can't figure out what month they what season they want to be in. Right. And that's usually when I get sick.
01:34:03
Speaker
So I was out of commission for like all of September. gee And I was not. And that was two weeks more than I was planning on. Oof. That's never fun.
01:34:16
Speaker
No. oh I just i'd lost my voice. So I'm like. i oh you Oh, yo. Believe it or not. Well, it wasn't in September. I lost my voice for a month in February.
01:34:29
Speaker
So I know how you feel there. ah Because that wasn't fun because I had to actually delay this season because of me getting sick in February, which is usually when we start a season of this podcast.
01:34:43
Speaker
So I'm like, well, this is bad timing, except with even less air coming out because. Yeah. No voice. But I will say you had better spending methods than I because bought... I probably... don't even know how much I probably spent. Realistically, I probably spent like $1,000 to maybe $1,500 on games this year alone, if not more. Nintendo Switch 2. That was one...
01:35:17
Speaker
that was one One low-key reason of why i um I was considered starting up my own channel was, it's like, okay, if I want to play games, there's a way I can get free games, but I have to do some work.
01:35:37
Speaker
But yeah i but i've ah I've also had games that i never i never would have played where I've had den devs that have contacted me and said, hey, would you play our game?
01:35:52
Speaker
And that's like Heroes of the Seven Islands. I never would have picked up that game. But it it's it is a fun little point-and-click RPG adventure. And I've actually been having a lot of fun with it.
01:36:05
Speaker
um Wizards, Wands, and... What is the name of that game? Whiskers, Wizards, and Wands was another game.
01:36:16
Speaker
And they just recently had a successful kick Kickstarter. And they're hoping to deliver that game sometime quarter one, quarter two of next year. yeah no, that's... i i for i just kind of play a lot of RPGs.
01:36:34
Speaker
ah um i don't really... like The YouTube side of things, i just upload my VODs to my VOD channel and I... by youtube My main YouTube focus is just weird, funny group content that we do.
01:36:49
Speaker
ah So i don't get to really see the side of, ah like i I guess, let's play type videos, in a sense, um that you kind of make.
01:37:02
Speaker
So it's it's really cool to see like people get those opportunities to but of devs reaching out saying, hey, want to play this? Yeah, and and that's... It kind of feels like... We're kind of like you you feel like you've made it as ah as a content creator when you have devs that have actually contacted you. Yeah, that that end that's probably yeah and' probably like a cool feeling.
01:37:26
Speaker
And even if it's not like AAA, but AAA is not honestly not where the... best games are some many they are the two best that are out there that they are labors of love it's the two single dev operators was it schedule one was one one person shoutouts tyler yeah one person Yeah, no, it's it's crazy the amount the amount of stuff that people are doing with indie games. Like, like even when the sledding game demo ah was available. like That was an amazing game. I've been following that. I have been, too. I am so excited for when the full game of that does release because I'm going to spend so much time fishing.
01:38:17
Speaker
but
01:38:20
Speaker
I'm gonna fish so much in the game about sledding because it's just that fun. and i camp plan Did you find the Yeti? Oh yeah, yeah obviously.
01:38:32
Speaker
You go out of bounds for just x amount of time, that Yeti will find Yeah. Yeah, no, me and my friends did everything with the demo. We found all of the hidden cosmetic skins.
01:38:44
Speaker
hidden cosmetic skins um
01:38:51
Speaker
We spent a good amount of time in that demo just messing around and goofing off. Honestly, it's such great time. It's such time killer with friends.
01:39:04
Speaker
time it's like such a good time killer with friends Of just like, we're all here, like in a discord call. We're all here using the proxy chat, just chilling and fucking around.
01:39:16
Speaker
And it's just, and we're having the time of our lives at ah at a, as frogs and shit at a ski resort. Yeah. And it's just, it's so wholesome. And so,
01:39:28
Speaker
Yeah. yeah i i cannot wait for that that one i believe they recently got think it was like most anticipated game award they got they got two awards recently on was it at the golden joysticks or was it a different one probably it might have been cozy quest oh that would make sense Yeah, I think it was... i know that they got two awards, and one of them was like... Yeah, Best of the Quest Grand Prize, I believe.
01:40:04
Speaker
Nice. that's that's that's That's like a sweet honor to get. And they posted, again, and and just like... i was I was looking for it. They posted it a little a YouTube short with it, and it was like...
01:40:18
Speaker
one of those where he was like, I don't know what to say. Because it was blew his mind that he this is a simple game. A simple game about sledding, and it's... but you can like the ocean You can fish. You can play darts. The darts was really fun. You can play darts. You can drink hot chocolate. You can make s'mores. You can get launched by a Yeti thousands of feet into the air and end up somewhere else. You can shoot yourself out of a cannon. use curling There's curling.
01:40:49
Speaker
There's snowball fights. Snowman making. Trampolines. uh what else even is there uh you know gambling let's go gambling uh there's a gotcha mechanic to get decorations for your sled there's a karaoke mic that reverbs and echoes and shit uh it's just it's such a cute little game and i'm like with it yeah Yeah, I really, like a part of me really hopes that this is like one of those games that does release this year, hopefully.
01:41:25
Speaker
i Realistically, it's probably going to release in the new year, January or February, because I think it's a perfect time season-wise for us in North America, at least, because there will still be snow on the ground.
01:41:41
Speaker
So it's like, you know, just like seasonal-wise, it makes so much sense to release it then. yeah And that's what I'm hoping for. I hope we don't have to wait like another year
Favorite Museum Departments and Franchises
01:41:52
Speaker
for it to come. Like I want this game now. Yeah. yeah I totally agree. Yeah. Also sledding game dev. Hey, if you ever want to come on this podcast, let me know. Reach out to me at Tony's game lounge. I would love to have you on to talk about your incredible journey and whatnot.
01:42:14
Speaker
ah it'd be really cool ah with that is there anything else you would like to add about our second topic there Otter or are we ready to head on into the bonus level I think we're ready for the bonus level alright well with all of that it's time for us to start closing things out let's dive on into the bonus level crazy lists great deals and recapping gaming history it's all here in the bonus level And start it off. We've got Game Clash. This is us a little eight-entry
01:42:48
Speaker
tournament of specific things in a game ah category or games themselves. And because, you know, we've been just talking everything Two Point Museum this episode, I figured why not put the eight of the nine departments of zoo point Two Point Museum head-to-head obviously the zoo cm dlc just came out so we're not going to be including that in this tournament but the other eight uh fields and departments are here and you get to decide the winner of each match are you ready otter yes all right match one we've got the fantasy versus digital departments
01:43:29
Speaker
right For this one, I have to go with Fantasy. It is a DLC, but I felt like there's more to it where the digital is more like small little bite-sized bits.
01:43:43
Speaker
But I do like the fact that the digital has where they can continue to add more things. Yes. i Hopefully they do, because I would like to see more collabs with indie games.
01:43:53
Speaker
But i mean but i I've played D&D for like 20 years, so I can't have to go with fantasy. oh Absolutely fair. Match 2, Science vs. the Supernatural.
01:44:06
Speaker
um i was not expecting to like supernatural as much as i did ah but for this one i have to go with supernatural only because my scientists refuse to maintain the equipment so i am constantly putting out fires fair enough every single one of my janitors is fire trained damn okay uh match three space versus botany All right.
01:44:32
Speaker
With this one, as much as I love plants, I'm constantly killing them. And I've actually taught history. I have a degree in history. So I like space because it deals... Well, I did take astronomy when I was in college too. But I like space because there are different things that... There are different subcategories that you get to go into and learn about some of the different... ah space aliens in two point.
01:45:06
Speaker
Yeah, no, absolutely. And it's also the category that has all the hidden, uh, the hidden devices to make certain devices activate. Oh gosh, that was a giant puzzle. And i ended up, there is a mod where you can get like all the icons for them that you can put on as floor decals. And I actually had to use those to plan out where I was going to put everything.
01:45:31
Speaker
So I highly recommend that mod to just to... figure where you're putting stuff i might just start a new museum like within my save file again like pick one of the locations and finally like arrange things like how they're supposed to be to find all the little hidden secrets there and whatnot because i i've probably done it like five times there there is no great there is no best way which whatever way fits fair enough uh match for archaeology versus marine life
01:46:03
Speaker
I took aquatic science when I was in high school. My favorite ah exhibit pieces are actually in the archaeology. It's actually prehistory. But my favorite ones are the the ambered. There is an ambered gecko, which was actually my very first...
01:46:23
Speaker
ah piece, my first exhibit, when you have the Explorer Edition, every time you start a museum, you, I think at least on the campaign level, you are gifted a free exhibit that you get. And that was my freebie, ah was the the Ambered Gecko. And I also like the Ambered Dinosaur.
01:46:48
Speaker
Yeah. which i and Which I actually i have in one of my museums, and I named it after my friend who does like all these. He's a dinosaur content creator where he makes like all these. plays the Jurassic World Evolution, and I actually named it after him.
01:47:03
Speaker
Nice. But for this one, I feel like because of the different... and All the different classifications, it kind of comes back to the first game that I played on my channel, which was Mega Aquarium.
01:47:17
Speaker
I have to go with Marine Life. All right. Moving on to the semifinals, Fantasy versus Supernatural. ah Fantasy. yeah i'm dan huge I've played D&D for so many decades at this point.
01:47:32
Speaker
No, I feel the fantasy DLC did a good job of like encapsulating the D&D feeling. and these it yeah It had so much story to it. And it was one that because I play two different saves. I have one save that I play on my YouTube channel. I have a second save that I play on Twitch.
01:47:53
Speaker
So I've actually everything for two point. I've done it twice. Wow. um and and so the fantasy i had it where whenever you had like those those key moments that changed to the trajectory that kind of shut off those paths i did one in my youtube i did the other in twitch and vice versa that's cool that's cool uh and uh second semi-files space versus marine life
01:48:26
Speaker
kind of gotta go with marine life on this one ah just because again it it hones back to aquarium which is basic and mega aquarium is like a hidden math game i swear but yeah i gotta go with marine life all right grand finals here fantasy versus marine life um the final one my absolute favorite museum department for two-point museum i gotta go with zoo but
01:49:02
Speaker
I know. It's not included. It's like it came out of left field. It's not a left field. It's coming in with the ladder. It's got the chair. Bam! It's knocked them both out. And it's the zoo that takes it in the end.
01:49:15
Speaker
Oh, what an upset.
01:49:20
Speaker
ah You know what? We will take that answer here ah for the second would be fantasy if I had to pick one. All right.
01:49:31
Speaker
So fantasy will take it in a tournament, but when it goes against the zoo, it's a very special exhibition match. It loses hard. Excellent. Well, that was the game clash. We will have one more game clash this season with the finale episode. Be sure to tune in for that. Moving on to this week in gaming history from December 1st to 14th. Here's what happened in the past season.
01:49:56
Speaker
Starting with the major events, December 1st, 1999, Nintendo releases the 64 Double D Disc Drive for the Nintendo 64 in Japan.
01:50:08
Speaker
Included are a modem cartridge, Doshin the Giant video game, and Mario Artist Paint Studio software. On December 5th, 1994, the Walt Disney Company creates the Disney Interactive Division to develop and license interactive multimedia products on CD-ROM for computers and cartridges for Sega Enterprises and Nintendo video game systems.
01:50:30
Speaker
The products will be distributed by Buena Vista Home Video. December 9th, 1993, several large video game manufacturers announced the industry has decided to endorse a rating system because Mortal Kombat came out.
01:50:45
Speaker
There was no rating system until Mortal Kombat. ah For game birthdays, to December 1st, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 turns 8 years old. December 2nd, The Crew turns 11.
01:50:57
Speaker
December 3rd, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin both turn 24. December 4th, Donkey Kong Country 2 turns 30. December 5th, Animal Crossing Wild World turns 20.
01:51:09
Speaker
December 6th, Mario Party 6 turns 21. December 10th, Turok 2, Scenes of Evil turns 27. December 11th, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess turns 19. And December 14th, Fire Emblem for the Super Famicom in Japan turns 32. And a Resident Evil Gaiden turns 24.
01:51:30
Speaker
Moving on to Tony's game poll. This is our seasonal poll that we host every season, a different question poll. ah And our ah poll this season, Honor, what franchise deserves a new game in 2025 slash 2026 that has not been announced yet?
01:51:51
Speaker
So say I was looking back and there there was one question you had even written down this as if there had was your the favorite game of all time. I know we've covered that. But hasn't if it hasn't gotten an HD remake, it's still, it's Cotart is the one that I want.
01:52:07
Speaker
Yeah, and to be fair, even though they did a to ah remaster, a remake of the game, it's like up in the air of whether or not it's still happening. So you know what? I'm willing to count it.
01:52:19
Speaker
well And someone had tried to start making it, but then they got sent a cease and desist and they had to stop. Yeah, because they were officially where EA was officially working on that something and they announced it.
01:52:32
Speaker
It was just a mod that they were working on. No, there is like a proper remake, remaster of the game it works, but like, we don't know where it is now. We have no clue.
01:52:42
Speaker
We haven't heard from it in years at this point now. And I was thinking about it, and I mean, it would only, from like updating the graphics, maybe a few small tweaks, but 90, I'd say like 97, 98% it could as is.
01:53:04
Speaker
All it just needs to be is ah updated to today's graphic standards. No, most definitely. like i feel like a lot of people probably would feel that. But with with with what they want to do with it, I know they're trying to put it in like a new engine and shit as well to...
01:53:20
Speaker
really make it get give it the master class treatment but yeah but by the time they get it fixed the next engine will be out and then they'll be like oh we gotta put in the next engine but just pick an engine yeah the upcoming deals of the week uh your free games on epic from the 27th of november to the december 4th uh universe for sale is free and that december 4th through 11th the dark side detective and the jackbox party pack 4 will be free And I think after that, we will start to see a free game a day. Because Epic does do like a free game a day during the holiday season.
01:53:57
Speaker
um But I do not know when it will start. It might start after that. ah But we will have to wait and see. ah ah As for Epic Games sales, the black friday their Black Friday sales end December 2nd.
01:54:09
Speaker
Steam's Black Friday sale ends December 1st. PlayStation's Black Friday sales also end December 1st. And the free games that are coming to PS Plus in December are LEGO Horizon Adventures, Neon White, The Outlast Trials, Killing Floor 3, and Sin Duality of ada And also Nintendo does have some Black Friday sales going around too. They might still be on until the first as well. So be sure to check for those.
01:54:35
Speaker
Your achievement of the week is in SpongeBob SquarePants Titans of the Tide. It's Agent of Chaos, which is to hit 100 NPCs. And the game of the week, I'm giving it to Octopath Traveler Zero. And lastly, Otter, if there is a game old or new that you would recommend it to the audience right now, what game would that be?
01:54:55
Speaker
I would say beyond the ones that we've already talked about. ah One game... Okay, one game that I have been thinking about since I since i played it. i played it if it was not earlier this year, it was last year. Crit Custodian.
01:55:13
Speaker
Okay. It's a Metroidvania. You are a cat in the afterlife. And you're just trying to... figure stuff out and you basically you're given a broom and told to clean up.
01:55:28
Speaker
I have heard of this game and I've heard great things about it. So you know what? Solid recommendation. ah And with that, that is the end of this week's episode. Otter, thank you for coming on. Well, thank you for having me. Where can we find you on the internet?
01:55:45
Speaker
I'm on Twitch on BlueOtter128 and I'm BlueOtterGaming on YouTube. I just don't remember if it has the numbers after it or not. All right.
01:55:57
Speaker
It does not have the numbers. It's just BlueOtterGaming. Can't miss it. It's got BlueOtters everywhere. Every single thumbnail has a BlueOtter.
01:56:08
Speaker
And of course, you can find me at Tony's Game Lodge everywhere. Twitter, Blue Sky, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube. ah you but YouTube short highlights of this podcast will be uploaded onto TikTok and the YouTube shorts. So be sure to check those out over the next two weeks.
Conclusion and Season Finale Promo
01:56:25
Speaker
ah And yeah, Otter, thank you once again for coming on. Well, thank you. And thank you, the listener, for tuning in Be sure to like, share, and follow this podcast on whatever platform you're listening to it on. We will be back in two weeks' time for the Season 9 finale featuring a roundtable of guests to help recap the Game Awards, recap gaming in 2025, and bring the chaos as we always do with these season finales.
01:56:57
Speaker
Until then, next time, we'll see you right back here in the Game Lounge. Bye. Have an oddly fantastic day. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Tony's Game Lounge. New episodes release every two weeks. Make sure to follow, like, and share the podcast on your streaming service and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, and X.