That's right, you're not hallucinating: we do love Super Smash Bros Ultimate. And also, there is a brand new (old) episode of Rather Be Playing on your podcast app! Why new (old)? Well this is an episode we recorded way back in December! The three of us were actually together in the same room for a rare moment. Needless to say it has been a really busy January and half of February. But we're still here and have no intention of going anywhere anytime soon! If you're still subscribed to the cast, thank you so much. We'll get back on track and make it up to you with some fresh new episodes very shortly. While it's been almost two months since we recorded this, not a ton has changed in the world. So it mostly still holds up. It's also our end of the year celebration episode, and it's before our #NoNewGames2018 pledge ended, so it is kinda timeless in the same way disco is. We think you should be able to hop in and feel right at home. As for the episode itself, we celebrate the amazing year 2018 turned out to be. We take our victory laps as we look back on the games we finished and the backlog space we cleared. We also talk about recent purchases and near-future plans. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is one we couldn't ignore and we are loving it, if you couldn't guess from the episode title. We also talked a bit about Overcooked 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2, plus a ton more as we gush about the 2018 games we finished and loved. Going forward you'll start seeing regular episodes again. Just bear with us as we clean out some cobwebs and freshen things up a bit. In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in (hopefully) two weeks! Topics Discussed: Super Smash Bros Ultimate God of War Overcooked 2 Red Dead Redemption 2 Subscribe: iTunes: bit.ly/rbp-itunes Spotify: bit.ly/rbp-spotify YouTube: bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: bit.ly/rbp-feed Music credit: Masashi Hamauzu. “The Yaschas Massif.” Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Square Enix, 2010.

It’s that time of year again! Sales abound, games and new consoles wrapped and quietly sitting under many a tree, and awards handed out. This is when we look back on the year of games behind us, pick up anything we missed at a probably substantial discount (except Red Dead Redemption 2 which isn’t getting cheaper for a loooong time), and look forward to the games ahead. Oh and at long last, our pact and pledge to not buy any games for an entire year is nearly at an end! Can you believe it? How did it go, you ask? Well it went a whole lot better for Josh than Elliot or Stevo, that’s pretty clear. Pro-tip: don’t enter into a pact with Josh that limits gaming. So in that spirit, we talk about the games we’re looking forward to! If you recall one of our loopholes to the pact was gifting games to one another on traditional gift-giving days. And with the biggest one of the year just around the corner, and even though it’s only a week before the end of the pact, we are ready for some gaming! So we discuss our Christmas wishlists as well as some of the games we did manage to play since the last episode. And then of course, we give our takes on The Game Awards. Josh and Stevo start us off with a little-known game from a tiny struggling studio, Red Dead Redemption 2! Yep, Stevo got it as a birthday gift and Josh got it cause he has no respect for pacts. But nonetheless, they’ve got great things to say about it with their spoiler-free overview. Stevo follows up with the recent indie hit, The Messenger, developed by Sabotage. If you’ve played Ninja Gaiden, this game will take you back. Next, Stevo played Dead Cells, the rogue-like/platformer hit that came out earlier this year by Motion Twin. This is one Josh and Elliot are dying to play so we’re all living vicariously through Stevo on this one. And lastly, to complete his Switch indie trifecta, Stevo rounds us out with Into the Breach. This game was developed by Subset Games, who you might remember from FTL fame, and they really did it again here if Stevo is to be believed. Elliot played a couple games as well! As the only one of the hosts who didn’t play Red Dead Redemption 2, he had to plug his ears and dig into whatever could distract him. First off, he talked about Hidden Agenda by Supermassive Games, the choose-your-own-adventure interactive multiplayer group party game. How’s that for a summary? He played with a few friends and they... weren’t too excited about it, but Stevo maintains that it’s a great time with friends. Next, he played the mobile gatcha game Dragalia Lost, by Nintendo. He’s not usually a gatcha game guy, but found himself having a great time with it. And to round things out we have a discussion about the The Game Awards 2018, which just aired a couple weeks ago. Did the winners deserve to win? Were the trailers worth the hype? Did the violinists put some clothes on? So many questions and so many answers. Almost as many as there were game streaming awards, which seems to be a thing now. That should do it for episode 34! Stay tuned in two weeks for our live, in-person recording of episode 35! It’s a rare treat that we’re all able to get together to record and the holidays tends to be when that happens. In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Red Dead Redemption 2 The Messenger Dead Cells Into the Breach Dragalia Lost Hidden Agenda Subscribe: iTunes: bit.ly/rbp-itunes Spotify: bit.ly/rbp-spotify YouTube: bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: bit.ly/rbp-feed

Hey hey! Remember us? We're either back or still here, depending on your proclivities. But here we are with a fresh new episode full of all the mostly latest games. We realize that a certain biggest game of the year recently released, but we'll get to that later. For now we're on the previous biggest games of the year, so if you're still playing those then this is the episode for you! The star of the show is Spider-Man! Both Josh and Stevo have spent copious amounts of time on the game through their own respective loopholes, and they've got a lot of gushing to do on it. If you haven't played it then you can join Elliot in living vicariously through the podcast. Josh does most of the heavy lifting for the rest of the games this week. He managed to play and finish the original Fallout, Diablo 2, and platinum Dragon Quest XI. Elliot and Stevo didn't stand a chance to keep up with him, but it makes for a lot of varied discussion. The Fallout and Diablo 2 are such timeless classics that are always fun to revisit, and Dragon Quest XI, is the critically acclaimed latest entry in the long-running beloved JRPG franchise. We wrap things up with a deep dive into our current roulette pick, Beyond: Two Souls. We weren't too hot on it, but we dig in and unpack the layers to figure out where it went wrong. It's a spoiler-free chat, so feel free to hang around for it at the end. And to top things off, we roll a new Backlog Roulette! Hopefully we end up with something we enjoy this time. In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Spider-Man Dragon Quest XI Beyond: Two Souls Fallout Diablo 2 Backlog Roulette Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes YouTube: http://bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

We might be a week late, but we're got an extra long episode to make up for it! And you can thank Tacoma for that. That's right, we've finally brought our deep dive spoiler chat of Tacoma with us and it is a doozy. Our thoughts on this one are a bit mixed, so check it out at the tail end of the episode. On the chance you have no interest in what we thought about Tacoma, you still get a full hour of classic game chat from all three of us. To start things off, Stevo's back! Woohoo! And he better have played extra games while he was away. This week he talks about the very popular platformer, Owlboy, and has a lot to say about it. It's an interesting talk about how the game got made and what he thought about it. Back in January, Elliot added Rime to the backlog roulette and it went months without getting picked until he finally replaced it a few weeks ago. So this week, he decided to play it and make it his game of the week. So was it worth all this wait? Find out here. Josh takes us on a journey into Darksiders via the new Warmastered Edition on PS4. Elliot's been trying to get these guys to play this game for years, so he's very excited to hear what Josh has to say. Have a listen and see if Elliot finally gets his long-sought vindication for his efforts. To wrap up the episode, we have a fresh backlog roulette! Find out what we'll be playing over the next couple weeks. In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Tacoma Owlboy Rime Darksiders Warmastered Edition Chrono Break Backlog Roulette Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes YouTube: http://bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

Stevo is dead......... sick this week. So that leaves Elliot and Josh to carry the mantle! The show must go on, after all. So of course we took the opportunity to tell Stevo what to play.  Josh and Elliot have played some great games that Stevo is still depriving himself of and the rest of the show is here to set him straight. So the big Tacoma chat and new roulette will have to wait until next week. Stevo will be missed, but he'll be back next episode with an even better sense of Stevoness. What else do we have? Well a whole bunch of Switch port demos came out recently and Josh and Elliot dug into them! Elliot broke into the Dragonball Fighter Z beta and loved a whole lot about it. Meanwhile, Josh played the Valkyria Chronicles 4 demo, so check out what he thought about it! Stevo really missed out on some quality jokes he could have made here. You snooze, you lose! Aside from that, we talk about the fighting game genre and our histories with it. Why don't we play them more when we have so much fun with other multiplayer genres? Elliot pines for the Okami HD Switch port and both Josh and Elliot hype themselves up about Dead Cells, DOOM Eternal, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. 2019 can't come soon enough! But until then, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Dragonball Fighter Z Valkyria Chronicles 4 Final Fantasy Tactics Metroid Prime DOOM Eternal Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Okami HD Dead Cells Fighting Games Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes YouTube: http://bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

Something special is in the air! Is it a blue moon? A shooting star? Mars at perigee? Even rarer! All three of us were spotted in the same room at the same time! So naturally we decided to play a ton of Rocket League and Towerfall. We may also have recorded our dirty thirty-eth episode. After many long travels, Josh and Elliot found themselves in the vicinity of a wild Stevo for a few brief hours. Have a listen to see what was borne from the historic reunion. Okay, how about a hint? Josh is wrapping up his 100% playthrough of Octopath Traveler. Square Enix's old-school-flavored JRPG has hit a soft spot in Josh's heart and he has a lot to say about it. But not just that, Josh ALSO got in on the Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker action. Apparently visiting family nets some people tons of Nintendo eshop cards. As if two games weren't enough for the man, Josh continued on and played Mega Man X Legacy Collection. The guy is a beast and doesn't know how to not play games on his Switch. Stevo has also been busy these last couple weeks, having finished off Hollow Knight. He still has a bit to go for 100% but the main job his done. His focus, however, was square on Nioh, Team Ninja's take on the Dark Souls formula. How did he like it? Only one way to find out! And finally Elliot hit up some classic games this week when he came into possession of a NES Classic! Does this violate #NoNewGames2018? It's too close to call, but we'll give the tie to the runner. He's started up with the original Castlevania and loving the nostalgia trip. That'll do for this week. Next week will be our breakdown of last week's roulette roll, Tacoma. In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Octopath Traveler Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Mega Man X Legacy Collection NES Classic Hollow Knight Nioh Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes YouTube: http://bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

Remember when we rolled Oxenfree in the roulette like a million years ago? Then there was E3 and travels, civilizations rose, civilizations fell, eons came and went. And that brings us to episode 29 wherein we finally finished Oxenfree! It was a great little game and we have a few things to say about it this week in our deep dive spoiler chat on everything from the mechanics to the story. It's the last thing we talk about so if you don't want to get spoiled, turn off the cast after the midway break. What else? We're all still hopelessly obsessed with Hollow Knight now! Thanks to a few timely loopholes in our No New Games 2018 pledge, we've all been able to get it. We seriously think this might be one of the best games we've ever played and we can't put it down. Well except for Josh, who's 1000%-ed it of course. But check out Stevo and Elliot as they tweet about their experiences playing through it. Josh was also able to get a hold of Square Enix's latest JRPG, Octopath Traveler. Since Oxenfree and Hollow Knight are old new for him, he's been going all in with Octopath and thoroughly enjoying it. He gives us a nice detailed breakdown of the game and its mechanics. And last but not least, it's time for a fresh Backlog Roulette! Oxenfree is done so Stevo gets to pick a new game to toss into the ring and then we roll! What will we be playing for the next two weeks? The answer is in this episode! In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Oxenfree Hollow Knight Octopath Traveler Backlog Roulette Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes YouTube: http://bit.ly/rbp-youtube Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

Happy Birthday America! And happy belated to Canada, our increasingly attractive cousin to the north! Elliot was in Montréal for Canada Day and he spent it playing Switch on la toilette! But now we're all back in the states for our favorite excuse to grill various meats and set off explosives. Stay safe out there! Actually, don't even go out. Stay in with us and play more videogames! Speaking of, everyone's chipping away at Hollow Knight.... while we should be playing Oxenfree. But hey at least we're playing! Beyond that, Stevo crushed Bethesda's Prey since last we spoke and he is positively glowing about it. He also managed to snatch Minute, an indie game with a fascinating concept. Elliot and Josh played God of War thanks to some very fortunate loopholes. Elliot's still playing, but Josh already has a platinum trophy and of course they both can't stop raving about it. Elliot also tried out the mobile editions of Fortnite and PUBG and enjoyed them way more than he thought he would. Josh also played the new Octopath Traveler demo and, keeping with his JRPG kick, went on to play Cosmic Star Heroine. His gaming thirst still unquenched, Josh also-also started up another playthrough of Final Fantasy V for this year's Four Job Fiesta. Check out his stream when you get a chance, it's for a great cause. Donations this year go to benefit the Child's Play charity, which you can read about at childsplaycharity.org. The goal this year is $25,000, and you can find out more about the 'fiesta' at fourjobfiesta.com. Next week we'll be talking about Oxenfree and rolling for a brand new game to play! In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: Prey God of War Fortnite and PUBG Mobile Octopath Traveler Demo #2 Cosmic Star Heroine Hollow Knight Final Fantasy V - Four Job Fiesta Steam Summer Sale 2018 Twin Peaks Same Peaks Y'all Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/rbp-sc RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

And we're keeping the conference party rolling with E3 2018 Part 2! It's only been a few days, but it's E3! We had a lot to say and two weeks was too long to wait for the exciting conclusion to our E3 coverage! But that's not the only thing going on! What's that? More sports? Sorry, but yes. It's the World Cup! It only comes around once every four years, so it's a cause for excitement. The hosts' home countries didn't qualify, but we still get to have fun with bandwagon teams. Let's go Mexicooooo! Aaaand back to video games. Last week we covered, with great enthusiasm, the Microsoft, Bethesda, and EA conferences. So this week we're coming in hot with our brilliant takes on the Devolver, Square Enix, Sony, Ubisoft, PC Gaming, and Nintendo conferences! There were a lot of exciting announcements, jaw-dropping demos, and wackadoodle good times. What more could a young gaming podcast want? Did you watch the show? What were your favorite moments? Do you have a Game of the Show award to hand out? Drop us a line and let us know! Whatever you thought of it, we had a great time. It may not have been as explosive as some previous E3s, but we certainly can't complain. In the meantime, leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying or our YouTube channel. See you all in two weeks as we return to our regular programming of talking about old games and lamenting that we can't play new ones! Topics Discussed: E3 2018 Devolver Conference Square Enix Conference Ubisoft Conference Sony Conference PC Gaming Conference Nintendo Conference Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/rbp-sc RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed

Right now, with a video game podcast based in Washington, DC, it is an exceptionally exciting time. Our city has its first ever hockey championship, and it's E3 2018 time baby! We promise not to talk sports too much, but we had to mention it. It's a pretty big deal for our little town, whether you like sports or hockey or none of the above. Let's Go Caps! Now that that's out of the way, how about those E3 conferences? So much stuff to go over, and so little time. I don't know how we did this all in a single 2.5 hour episode last year, but this year we've got to split this show up into two long episodes. This is part one and we talk about the announcements and conferences from the first couple days. This includes the EA, Microsoft, and Bethesda showcases, as well as any particularly exciting pre-show announcements and news. Those three conferences were pretty dense compared to the rest, so we feel like it's a good place to split them. Part 2 will come early next week and feature the Devolver, Square Enix, Sony, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and PC Gaming showcases. It's been one hell of an E3 so far and we can't wait to see what the rest of the show will bring. It's not gonna be easy holding onto this #nonewgames2018 pledge. Can we do it? Come along and find out with us! In the meantime, come join in on the discussion! Leave a comment, tweet us at @rbpcast, or shoot us an email at questions@ratherbecast.com and we’ll talk about it on the next episode. You can also check out our Twitch stream at twitch.tv/ratherbeplaying or send us some nice anniversary flowers. See you all in two weeks! Topics Discussed: E3 2018 EA Conference Microsoft Conference Bethesda Conference Subscribe: iTunes: http://bit.ly/rbp-itunes Google Play: http://bit.ly/rbp-google SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/rbp-sc RSS: http://bit.ly/rbp-feed