Dads After Dark Show - A Nintendo Podcast · Drew and John

#188: What's the Story?

November 14, 2023·42 min·3 clips

Story in games can be uniquely told in ways movies cannot.

1. Dads After Dark Show #188 centers on John's argument about how video games tell stories. 2. John hosts solo on Monday, November 13th, 2023, and he mentions Drew being in Disney World and Michelle giving him a cosmic red PS5 controller. 3. The episode asks whether story matters more than some players admit, especially when gameplay and pacing compete with dialogue. 4. John starts with South Park: The Stick of Truth, which he played after years of putting it off. 5. He says Gunman Clive 2 grew from a short first game into a longer platformer with more level variety. 6. He is also playing Blasphemous again before eventually buying into Blasphemous 2. 7. John announces Presence After Dark and tells listeners to DM him or Drew with an address and a $20 to $30 gift range. 8. The live-action Zelda movie becomes a major talking point, and John expects Nintendo to cast unknown actors. 9. His casting guesses are Tom Hardy as Ganondorf, Ty Sheridan as Link, and Zendaya as Zelda. 10. The related PlayStation Daily segment predicts Game of the Year nominees like Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield, Spider-Man 2, Sea of Stars, and Alan Wake 2. 11. John says Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom begin by dropping the player into movement almost immediately. 12. He praises Spider-Man 2 for making cutscenes feel like uninterrupted gameplay. 13. He argues that Ace Attorney builds story through evidence and courtroom twists rather than long exposition. 14. Diablo 4 becomes his example of a grind that loses momentum when the next story payoff is too far away. 15. He says overly chatty games like Eastward waste time with dialogue that players skip. 16. John criticizes games that bury their ending, using Sea of Stars, Grifflands, and Ni no Kuni as examples of pacing problems. 17. The tone stays conversational and personal, with long stretches of solo commentary and side notes about birthdays, family, and what he is playing. 18. The format mixes show updates, game impressions, a movie-casting tangent, and a full cross-posted PlayStation Daily discussion. 19. Listeners who like Nintendo, RPGs, and game storytelling should get a lot out of this. 20. People wanting a tight multi-host debate or a short episode should probably skip it.

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