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

#190: The Games We Left Behind in 2023

December 5, 2023·2 hr 4 min·5 clips

When you have too many games and somehow want to play none of them.

John opens with a barber joke. He uses it to drag Drew into a goofy setup before the episode settles into a conversation about the games they wanted to play in 2023 but did not get around to. The question is simple. The hosts ask whether there is any shame in not finishing a game. A backlog is a backlog, and the episode treats that as a normal part of playing rather than some big moral failing. One of the bigger game discussions centers on a card-driven battler. It has clans, subclans, champions, spells, random encounters, shops, upgrades, and enough moving parts to make the screen feel crowded before the first floor is over. The game sounds fun. It also sounds like something that asks a lot from the player, because the damage totals, monster counts, and layered abilities can make it hard to tell whether a run is about to win or go sideways. Drew compares it to Slay the Spire. That comparison helps frame the appeal and the problem at the same time: the game is sticky and satisfying, but it is not nearly as clean or readable as the simpler model next to it. The hosts do not pretend every game needs to be finished. They spend more time describing how a game feels in the hands, in the schedule, and in the head than they do handing out verdicts. The back half stays rooted in that practical rhythm. As the conversation moves through the mechanics and the usual show chatter, the tone stays warm, a little chaotic, and comfortable with admitting that some games simply did not get their due in a busy year. The episode ends the way the show usually does. It folds back into housekeeping and listener-facing plugs after the game talk has done its job.

As heard by us

A loose backlog talk that treats unfinished games as part of playing, not a failure.

An opening barber joke leads into a plain-spoken look at the games they meant to play in 2023 and never quite finished. The same question keeps coming back: does it actually matter if a game stays unfinished? The answer here is no, or at least not much.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If your unplayed-game pile is still mocking you, this one hits close.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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