Rob returns to the podcast ready to talk about the latest and greatest in…uh, Empire: Total War mods? Before all that, though, we break down the massive set of Xbox leaks, use Microsoft’s misreading of Baldur’s Gate 3’s breakout potential as a way to discuss the state of Xbox software, and try to figure out the pyramid scheme that is Embracer. Elsewhere, Patrick’s been really digging Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, and Ren’s quickly breaking apart Lies of P. Discussed: Microsoft Megaleak 5:27, Embracer Group Layoffs 48:21, Cyberpunk 2077 1:12:20, Lies of P 1:47:28, New Forza Game 2:07:57, The Question Bucket 2:12:36 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s only two weeks into the NFL season, but it’s already time to say goodnight to the losing Chicago Bears. Listen as Patrick and Rob come to terms with returning to a familiar cycle in Chicago: rooting for your team to lose. We discuss the nature of successful organizations, before talking through the delights of Tua Tagovailoa, the shaky Eagles, and COACH PRIME BABY!!!! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patrick, Cado, and Ren unpack the mess Unity created after its latest destructive path to profitability, before talking through the newest Nintendo Direct. Elsewhere, the crew discusses its time with Lies of P, Time Bandit, Gunbrella, and beating the latest Armored Core multiple times. Finally, in The Question Bucket, we try to understand super mario rap (dirty). Discussed: Unity Makes a Mess of Monitization 11:32, Nintendo Direct 44:38, Armored Core VI 1:02:32, New Game Plus Spoilers for AC VI 1:06:42 , Back to Spoiler Free AC VI 1:11:06, Time Bandits 1:24:05, Gunbrella 1:32:12, Lies of P, The Question Bucket 1:52:09, AC New Game Plus spoilers again but for a joke this time 2:08:48 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re delighted to welcome Strange Scaffold founder Xalavier Nelson Jr. to Remap Radio this week. You might remember him from Patrick’s interviews from Summer Games Fest earlier this year—he’s fantastic. With Rob at Disney, Xalaiver joins Patrick, Cado, and Ren as they discuss the perils and stresses of game development, being a boss, and Strange Scaffold’s upcoming Max Payne-style game, El Paso, Elsewhere. Plus, Cado and Ren have been playing the colorful space tactics game Cantata, and Ren’s checked out the linguistics-focused Chants of Sennar. Discussed: See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The gang meets to discuss Starfield some more and the odd blacklisting of UK critical sites. Patrick and Rob get to some of their major impressions and metagame a bit about how they think it will be received by critics. Then Remap tackles the Bioware layoffs and the strange messaging around them given EA's avowed ambitions for the studio. Plus, Rob is high on the Making of Karateka, Ren is getting into the new Six Ages game, Lights Going Out. Plus: Immortals of Aveum... not bad at all! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rob and Patrick have been playing Starfield and recording their impressions and experiences along the way in a series of one on one conversations. This episode covers their opening hours with the game, some early confusion, and their early engagement with some of the game's major systems. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Patrick and Rob have managed to avoid thinking about the heartbreak of another season of Chicago Bears football, but week one is almost here, so the two work through their feelings by breaking down every division in the NFL. They also manage to convince themselves that, no, the Bears are not back and might not ever come back, so they distract themselves with conversations about running backs, the sheer amount of ads in American sports, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new Armored Core is here, and both Patrick and Ren have spent time with FromSoftware’s latest entry. Is this MechaSouls, a true Armored Core sequel, or something else? After checking in with Microsoft announcing it’s going to sell cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft as part of the ongoing Activision Blizzard sale, we host a lengthy conversation with the ex-VICE Motherboard folks about their new journalism venture, 404 Media. After a dip in The Question Bucket, our trio of Baldur’s Gate 3 adventurers swap tales of divergent storytelling, a bounty of glitches, and more. Discussed: Armored Core VI 6:48, UK Blocked Microsoft-Activision Merger 39:29, Interview with 404 Media 1:02:34, The Question Bucket 2:25:42, The Baldur's Gate 3 Act 1 Spoiler Zone 2:52:38 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Remap crew, well-known for their spicy takes that take three hours to unpack, tries to untangle the ongoing conversation about Baldur’s Gate 3, the realities of AAA game development, and how the current (and broken) media ecosystem fuels a toxic discourse. After, we learn more about Rob, Ren, and Cado’s adventures in Baldur’s Gate 3, Ren and Patrick go sicko mode on Blasphemous 2, and Patrick discovers a series of excellent card and board games made for kids. Finally, a question about media literacy sends us to the philosophy zone. The Discourse Around Baldur’s Gate 3 1:54, Blasphemous 2 1:01:50, Kid Boad/Card Games Made By A Parent with Their Kid 1:20:52, The Question Bucket 1:33:07 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rob and Patrick are joined by critic at large Rowan Kaiser to question what new ingredients could be added to a 6-way Cincinnati chill (spoiler: delicious garbage), unpack what the hell happened to college football in the past few weeks (spoiler: greedy TV details derailing regional history), consider What Exactly James Harden Is Doing (spoiler: being James Harden), and spend considerable time examining the history of women’s soccer and how it relates to the toxic backlash the women’s team experienced at this year’s World Cup (spoiler: it’s complicated). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It seems the world has Baldur’s Gate Fever, and that doesn’t exclude the Remap Radio crew. Patrick chose an ideal week to be off so that Ren, Cado, and Rob could be their best goblin like CRPG selves. But first, Rob went looking for other spaces to find tactical bliss and ended up returning to Xenonauts 2. Then we get deep into zen and the art of cable management as Rob describes his weekend as the King of Executive Function. Then we time travel back to last week when Patrick was still around and he HAD to chat with Ren about Atlas Fallen because it’s just That Good. Finally, we dig into Baldur’s Gate 3, our characters, and where the TTRPG systems bend when being programmed vs. being run by a human being. Stay after the outdo for a special Spoiler Section where we go deep into Act 1, including a time where Cado got seemingly stuck (but only for a few days). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The crew is back with a veritable bevy of games. Rob and Cado checked out The Banished Vault, a resource management game that pulls heavily from board games in that same genre. Patrick checks back in with Final Fantasy XVI and finds the game becoming more and more uninteresting as the focus moves away from the story it started to tell in it's opening hours. After the break, Ren's been playing Blood West, a solid immersive sim set in the Wild West that unfortunately (but not surprisingly) falls afoul of some problematic usage of Indigenous folklore. Rob and Cado talk about their time in The Expanse: A Telltale Series. And finally we end in an extra beefy question bucket full of stories about that velvet curtain at the back of the video store. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The crew meets under sweltering conditions to discuss how they're coping with the heat and how much they are suffering for their gaming. With her Steam Deck laboring under such conditions, Ren has been playing a bunch of retro-style games including HROT and Demon Lord: Reincarnation. Ren, Cado, and Patrick discuss Remnant 2 as a shockingly great co-op game, and Patrick is delighted by Viewfinder. Then the gang digs into the Question Bucket. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The whole crew is back, which kicks off with the state of play of Activision and Microsoft, a discussion about the state of esports in light of Overwatch League’s likely demise, and Corsair buying the mechanical keyboard company Drop. At the break, Patrick checks in with Hi-Fi Rush director John Johannes about the lack of Zwan music in the game’s DLC, meeting fans in person, and more. In the world of playing games, Ren and Patrick are checking out (and liking!) Remnant II, while Patrick is less satisfied with how Oxenfree II ended up. Finally, The Question Bucket returns to mull refrigerator smells. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the gang and their friends still wondering where their severance is, they get exciting news about some well-deserved bonuses for their former bosses. Then, they talk about the ruling in the Microsoft-Activision merger case, Home Depot's Halloween lineup, Oxenfree 2, Tyranny, and Aliens: Dark Descent. Support the show: https://www.remapradio.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shift+F1 and NoClip's Danny O'Dwyer comes to chat with Patrick and Rob about the Enhanced Games, pro cycling, the other football, celebrity team owners, and Irish sports. We probably talked about even more stuff but honestly it just turned into a good sports hang-out and bounced around a lot with increasingly little structure. Oh but there was a really good listener-submitted quiz that the gang took on pro cycling terms! That was great. Support the show: https://www.remapradio.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jordan Minor, author of the upcoming book Video Game of the Year (featuring both Patrick and Austin!), joins the rest of the Remap Radio crew to discuss Steam trying to grapple with AI art, and what it means to create in a world of creation-focused algorithms. Elsewhere, we chat about Jordan plotting video game history through his book, Patrick’s played (and enjoyed!) the Pikmin 4 demo, Ren’s dumping many more CRPG hours into Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Tyranny, while Jordan wonders what Pokémon can learn from Cassette Beasts. In The Question Bucket, we consider the nature of nostalgia and whether video game leveling systems make any sense. Support the show: https://www.remapradio.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is one of the first interviews Patrick recorded as a member of Remap Radio, finally reaching your ears! Patrick and Cado recall their time with Citizen Sleeper as an introduction to Patrick's interview with Gareth Damian Martin, the lead developer behind Citizen Sleeper. They talk about how Citizen Sleeper 2 isn't what you might expect out of a sequel, how it differs from the original both in setting and mechanics, and where both game's narrative inspiration comes from. Support the show: https://www.remapradio.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a free preview of our Foundation Tier podcast where Rob, Patrick, and Cado discuss The Bear season 1. Our second episode dropped last week as well, where we discussed the first two episodes of The Bear Season 2. You can subscribe or upgrade your current subscription at https://www.remapradio.com Support the show: https://www.remapradio.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the Microsoft vs. FTC case winds down, the group discusses some of the headlines coming out of the courts, including the mega budgets behind AAA games, the studios Microsoft has considered buying, the possibility of Starfield being a PlayStation exclusive, and more. Elsewhere, Ren has been making poor economic choices in Etrian Odyssey HD, Patrick and Cado have been playing a ton of interesting Steam Next Fest demos, and Cado’s been trying Final Fantasy XVI. Out in the land of The Question Bucket, an AMC insider lets us know the secrets of its drinks. Support the show: https://www.remapradio.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.