Sacred Symbols, Episode 254 | Hear the Magic in Your Sighs
Added 2023-05-12 16:00:11 +0000 UTCA minor culling is underway at and around PlayStation, with a smaller first party studio going away and an in-production second party FPS seemingly cancelled. But it's unclear why this would necessarily be looked at as a bad thing. If teams and products aren't living up to their promise -- and if they presumably don't reach an ever-increasing quality bar internally -- shouldn't they be cut loose? Still, at a time when consolidation and headcount means anything, that Sony is taking these risks indicates there's more at play, with the potential of a brighter future on the other side. Let's discuss. Other news this week includes massive numbers for the Horizon franchise, now Sony's sixth best-selling series ever, while Pokémon studio GameFreak gets into bed with Take Two and PS+ gets its strongest slate of new additions in months. Finally, we wrap things up -- as always -- with listener inquiries. Was IGN wrong to say that games its staff has never heard of aren't worth your attention to begin with? Have the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters invoked a new interest in Stranger of Paradise? Can anything be done to halt the death of game rentals? Will we ever recover from how hard The Good Doctor makes us laugh?
Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro
0:04:09 - Have we cursed the audience with Chris Chan lore?
0:13:24 - Dustin and Dagan at Too Many Games
0:17:12 - Is Colin playing the straight man?
0:20:31 - The Autistic Doctor
0:27:10 - When should wedding speeches take place?
0:34:07 - HBO’s TLoU series is one of their biggest ever
0:37:33 - An unannounced PS5 sci-fi shooter has been canceled
0:44:30 - Hogwarts Legacy has sold more than 15 million copies
0:46:59 - Hollow Knight: Silksong has been delayed
0:50:04 - Capcom is killing it
0:54:31 - Destiny 2 season pass pricing has been quietly raised
1:02:01 - Warhammer 40k: Boltgun looks dope
1:05:47 - A Plague Tale: Requiem is getting a performance mode
1:08:51 - Gimmick is coming to PS4
1:10:04 - A Mortal Kombat reboot may be incoming
1:17:48 - Street FIghter 6’s open beta has been revealed
1:20:10 - GQ has released a list of their top 100 games
1:34:35 - What have we been playing?
2:05:39 - Pixelopus is being shut down
2:24:30 - Horizon: Forbidden West’s sales numbers have been revealed
2:35:52 - GameFreak is collaborating with Private Division for Project Bloom
2:47:15 - Sony has announced the India Hero Project
2:50:43 - PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium offerings for May have been revealed
2:58:35 - How do sites decide what to review?
3:07:01 - What do we think of Stranger of Paradise?
3:10:48 - Who are our favorite artists in the industry?
3:16:00 - Are rentals a good reason for physical games to exist?
3:33:42 - Is Zelda the highest quality franchise of all time?
3:41:10 - What game related clothing do we like?
Comments
Regarding the gaming rental portion of the show, don't forget when PS Now first arrived, it offered a la carte renting of games at various prices.
Pierre Zaboori
2023-05-21 12:34:38 +0000 UTCCan't believe Shaggy and Scooby will be in Mortal Kombat One.
Seamndel
2023-05-17 16:50:57 +0000 UTCIf a game ain't coming together, I'd much rather they cancel it like Santa monica did. Dont want games from 1st or 2nd party been like a Redfall or Godfall for that matter
Zack Fair
2023-05-17 11:10:24 +0000 UTCForspoken has fun gameplay. That’s all I have to say about it that’s positive. One of the worst protagonists I’ve seen
Chuck Rude
2023-05-16 14:48:01 +0000 UTCYeah that mgs4 take was hard for me to listen to haha and breath of the wild has nothing to do in it?! What game was he playing.
Zachary
2023-05-16 13:43:14 +0000 UTCMy favourite and only gaming related clothing was my unofficial Pokèmon underwear from when I was 7. Thanks to my Charmander, Squirtle and Gengar undies, I was the coolest kid at the urinal. Unfortunately, I've never been that cool ever since.
Sam Lee
2023-05-16 08:35:12 +0000 UTCChris being a bit obnoxious in this episode
Bailey Callis
2023-05-16 03:27:38 +0000 UTCForbidden West was great, I just wish there were fewer weapon kinds, and that upgrading them wouldn't be such a chore. 5 stages for every weapon, each requiring 3-10 parts from a certain enemy (which doesn't even always drop), times ~4 enemies for each stage, and it turns out you aren't even happy that you're getting legenderies. By the time you get them they're going to be too weak to be useful at level 0 (legendary armor even has huge elemental weaknesses that you need to get rid off by leveling them up), and upgrading them is too time consuming, and frankly too boring, to be worth the hassle.
MISZCZOGRZMOT
2023-05-16 00:18:45 +0000 UTCColin's comment about the camera height in games made me think of Borderlands 3. The vault hunters are all different heights and their first person views match that. Fl4k's camera is like a foot and a half higher than Amara's
Jack
2023-05-15 22:38:16 +0000 UTCColin, did you wear glasses under your mask when you played hockey? If so, did that ever cause issues? I started wearing glass quite young but always took them off to play hockey. I couldn't wait for the day to get contacts, and when I finally did, I couldn't believe the difference it made when on the ice. Wearing contacts for sports is like night and day when compared to glasses. We're roughly the same age, and I played travel hockey in Maine/New England, so there's a chance we played against each other.
Michael Brennan
2023-05-15 20:26:26 +0000 UTCLike everything, its really hit or miss for me. I'll listen depending on the topic.
Alex
2023-05-15 19:53:43 +0000 UTCIf Chris ends up sticking with Jedi: Survivor I’d love to hear a spoiler cast with him and Matty. A mega Star Wars fan paired with someone who isn’t into the world generally would be great.
Anthony Palerino
2023-05-15 17:41:04 +0000 UTCOne point that needs to be noted about Capcom current success is a lot of it is tied to Sony saving them in the early 2010s. Capcom straight up was running out of money too fast to fund Street Fighter 5. Sony didn't just partner with Capcom then, but helped fund several games to completion that helped the company bounce back.
NinjaDC
2023-05-15 16:30:07 +0000 UTCDef should bring Vince in for sf6 but it’s going to be big. They’re making a massive attempt to make this the best one ever and bring in the casual players through new control systems. So it’s accessible. Just as capcom is firing on all cylinders, it’s not just with RE. Even the new story mode that Colin mentioned where you beat people up In the streets, it’s basically def jam for New York. Going to be great and I’m hopping in for the first time since sf2 and the feeling I get is I’m not alone. Capcom thinks they can sell 10m and I agree In regards to the top video game lists, it has to be like sports where you have to split them between pre passing era and post. Or nba like lebron and Jordan kind of have to be separated from wilt and Russell. Because rdr does blow sonic or mega man out of the water but sonic you can’t take away the groundwork these games layed at the time. You can combine lists but it gets too difficult. The top 10 would be a mess.
Caleb Peacock
2023-05-15 14:10:00 +0000 UTCJust for the record, the last Pokemon games were technically not great but they were the best Pokemon games in terms of everything else in years.
TheMuff1nMon
2023-05-15 14:06:18 +0000 UTCAny opinion on MGS4 is valid, as long as you played it. If you never played or finished it, and you were knee deep in your Xbox 360, just blindly claiming that every PS3 game was terrible, then your opinion becomes invalid.
Greg Hommel
2023-05-15 12:15:47 +0000 UTCThat GQ List was really bad. It would be cool though if the SS Crew responded with a SS+ top 50 or top 25 PlayStation games, but more through the perspective of the most seminal, important, and influential games of PlayStation’s history that every PlayStation gamer should at least consider trying at some point. And the list could be chronological in order to avoid any controversy with subjective rankings that ultimately don’t matter a whole lot.
Jim Capron
2023-05-15 10:48:32 +0000 UTCReleasing Pokemon in a buggy state is one thing but to say it's the same game as it was a few iterations ago is categorically incorrect
Luke Trewarne
2023-05-15 02:57:50 +0000 UTCI’m in the Metal Gear 4 sucks camp. Game was horrible. The exposition was a chore to sit through. Loved 5 though. It was an excellent sequel to MG3. Forspoken is nowhere near as bad as the hate train makes it out to be.
Nikitas Gagas
2023-05-14 23:10:09 +0000 UTCThe most jarring thing for me about those Good Doctor clips you guys talked about is that it's impossible for me to see that actor as anyone besides Norman Bates lol.
Josh Gamez
2023-05-14 17:08:07 +0000 UTCToo Many Games is 40 minutes from my house. I always want to go but then my crippling anxiety gets the best of me and I never actually go. Maybe I’ll go this time. I’d love to say hello and possibly have a beer with Dustin and Dagan.
Michael Mashpotato
2023-05-14 13:06:28 +0000 UTCAm I the only one who really dislikes the content with Jaffee? I can’t be.
Andrew Klocek
2023-05-14 10:13:59 +0000 UTCZelda has been around for so many years I have no idea why Colin still wants it to be the exact same thing. A lot of Nintendo's best games are when they're trying to innovate.
Brannon H
2023-05-14 04:17:05 +0000 UTCI'm calling the special episode is Ken Levine.
Nathan Densley
2023-05-14 03:14:40 +0000 UTCTotK runs at 30fps bud
Evan Westendorf
2023-05-14 00:41:55 +0000 UTCI think the reason digital rentals will never work with games is that they're so variable in length, so it's hard to think of a pricing model that makes sense across the board. A movie is generally going to be anywhere from 90 to 180 minutes, but a game could be anywhere from 4 hours to 150. I guess the only model that would truly be "fair" would be a per-hour fee (like $1.50 every hour that you play, and maybe you're charged once you've returned the game), but even then you'd run into problems with people being incentivized to speedrun the game for cheap, and with a longer title like AC Valhalla probably costing you a shitton of money if you did everything. Overall I agree that it's just not a feasible model.
Superhero Jagganath
2023-05-13 21:51:01 +0000 UTCCrazy breath of the wild takes by Chris lol
Klutch
2023-05-13 18:41:21 +0000 UTCOn the topic of mortal kombat… any nostalgia for the GI Joe Mortal kombat or street fighter figures? Loved them.
Kenneth Koepnick
2023-05-13 16:32:19 +0000 UTCChris describing gamefreak pokemon games with an Mp4 of them shitting into a bucket with lavender town theme in the background was incredible 😄 🤣
Monterey Jack
2023-05-13 16:22:33 +0000 UTCI think I know what this interview is gonna be 👀
Dylan Michael
2023-05-13 14:42:04 +0000 UTCI too Love the horizon series. I think the crew is in a bit of an echoe chamber thinking that most people don’t like it it or view it as just ok. All my friends thinks it’s amazing
Big titty drinker
2023-05-13 08:29:01 +0000 UTCSadly enough production on TLOU S2 was indeed delayed due to the Writer’s Strike shortly after you guys recorded this.
NeO JD
2023-05-13 07:33:01 +0000 UTC"Too bad hitler died in 1945, it would've been cool if he lived to face off against the autobots" Can’t wait for y’all to get to the later episodes of the docu
Justspartan
2023-05-13 06:04:25 +0000 UTCDustin, you gotta watch/listen to Metal Gear Solid 4 Was A Mistake by Steak Bentley on YouTube. Long video, but a very easy listen that goes by fast. It's exactly what you're looking for on MGS4.
Shadi Haddad
2023-05-13 05:43:08 +0000 UTCFelt like Chris was moments away from his Joker moment with "Frey Holland"
Bobby
2023-05-13 02:36:15 +0000 UTCWhen talking about Forspoken, Colin restated his desire to keep familiarizing himself with PlayStation affiliated games. While I agree with y’all having the freedom to play whatever you want, I have found the complete silence on Tchia since launch to be interesting. As far as I understand, it shares a relationship with PlayStation similar to Kena. Just this week reports have come out highlighting the game’s impressive player numbers. While I have no idea if any of you would enjoy it, I think it’s a special game. As someone who typically doesn’t trophy hunt, I got the platinum yesterday and loved every minute!
Samuel Ashley
2023-05-13 01:03:24 +0000 UTCDo they talk about MGS3 Remake in this episode?
BatmanBeyond
2023-05-13 00:59:16 +0000 UTCI mean the 100 list doesn’t “matter”. But don’t we want to treat our medium and industry with some importance and respect? Obviously we have personal taste, but I don’t buy into this notion that EVERYTHING is subjective. Video games are software products. They are art projects. They influence pop culture I do think there are some objective qualities with all of this.
Zack E
2023-05-13 00:57:51 +0000 UTCI adore both Horizons. I say it so many times but god damn is it great in so many aspects (to me). My GF was always curious and when I got her the PS5 for HP Legacy and afterwards she paid for the PS Library for Horizon and others. Played ZD and was HOOKED. About to finish her playthrough of ZD and then start FW.
A Hind D
2023-05-12 22:43:17 +0000 UTCMy bad. The Doom-like with magic.
Jeremy Seal
2023-05-12 22:21:59 +0000 UTCHaha. I'm sure Tron will be transgender at least.
Jeremy Seal
2023-05-12 22:21:35 +0000 UTCYou need to put context because I have no clue what you’re talking about. :) -Dustin
Dustin Furman
2023-05-12 22:04:12 +0000 UTCAddendum to the GQ list. In 2023, if you want to be considered a film "buff," - at least in the most superficial level - it is a reasonable goal for a person to watch and consume a good portion of the filmographies of Eliza Kazan, John Ford, Scorsese, Tarantino, Spielberg, etc. Every one of their projects is a roughly two hour exercise. However, that is not the case for videogames. Which is a real problem for video game criticism and video game history. The past matters. It matters if you are a fantasy writer/critic whether you have read Tolkien or not. The past matters. However, how will future generations - or modern ones for that matter - ever have a prayer in going back a decade or more to play classic video games when there are so many modern video games that require 50+, 100+ hour playtimes? I was thinking about this with the release of Tears of the Kingdom. In 20 years, will anyone be playing BOTW? I don't think so. They'll have to contend with the last two Zelda games that require your entire free time, in addition to all the open world and free to play games that will be out at the time. Very sad - but its unavoidable in my mind.
Jesse V
2023-05-12 20:27:27 +0000 UTCHey Colin, I would highly recommend jumping back into the Plague Tale series when you have time. I was in a similar situation to you where I started the first one, but it didn't immediately click. I jumped back into it while recovering from a health scare and fell in love with it. I immediately started the sequel after finishing the first one. Great story and setting, in my opinion. Great show, as always!
Billy Wright
2023-05-12 18:40:47 +0000 UTC“They patched the buttholes outta cats”. That caught me so off guard haha!
Noah Trujillo
2023-05-12 18:40:07 +0000 UTCLet's hope they use Bad Box Art Mega Man for the movie.
Raul Menendez
2023-05-12 18:31:18 +0000 UTCDustin, I think you're thinking of Hexen.
Jeremy Seal
2023-05-12 18:28:52 +0000 UTCThere is a rumor that a Mega Man movie is in the works. Unfortunately Disney owns the movie rights, so we all know it will be terrible.
Jeremy Seal
2023-05-12 18:20:48 +0000 UTCI think the issue with the which games are reviewed discussion is now the biggest outlets just aren’t the place to go for recommendations on great indie games. Some of the biggest Indie games were skipped at first or reviewed late at IGN (Undertale is a great example of this). When outlets are only covering games when they get big or already have massive marketing budgets what exactly are they providing?
Matthew Kohlman
2023-05-12 18:14:00 +0000 UTCHoping that this time next week we'll be having the discussion of the showcase being officially announced by Sony 🙏
Deemac
2023-05-12 17:13:21 +0000 UTCSo excited for Boltgun! As a 40K and boomer shooter nut I feel completely pandered to. Great time to love these types of games.
Noah Friscopp
2023-05-12 17:07:47 +0000 UTCI completely agree with Chris when people say he's a "comedic genius" I have no idea what they're talking about. He makes me blow air out of my nose maybe once every other episode like are people actually doubled over in laughter every time he says something is "objective" that clearly isn't objective? This crowd's bar for comedy is way too low smh
Zac Lebeau
2023-05-12 17:03:48 +0000 UTCThanks for the new episode 💙 And as always, wish you all a nice weekend
Namistai25
2023-05-12 16:45:56 +0000 UTCNo people should be called out. People consistently use the game to tear other ones down and it’s very obnoxious
Big titty drinker
2023-05-12 16:45:16 +0000 UTCTo each its own. I respect your opinion and understand why BOTW might be overrated from your point of view. Not every game is for everyone. But there is no need to call out the people that liked it and enjoy it, dude ❤️
Namistai25
2023-05-12 16:41:45 +0000 UTCBreath of the wild is such an overrated video game. Playing it for the 1st time expecting to be blown away and all it is shrine after shrine and big empty open world with repetitive enemies. It’s very interesting because ALOT of the criticisms that people make about other open world games are very much present in breath of the wild. (Just disguised differently) It definitely has some of that Ubisoft dna with towers and or shrines. Some of y’all are big time hypocrites when it comes to this game lol. The funny part about it is people romanticize the hell out of exploring in this game , but in all honesty who cares about exploring if there is nothing interesting to discover. Hopefully it gets better but so far I’m pretty damn underwhelmed 😒
Big titty drinker
2023-05-12 16:34:56 +0000 UTC
