Video Gamers Podcast
Doom: The Dark Ages, Expedition 33, Ninja Gaiden 4 and Split Fiction - Gaming Podcast
Thu, 30 Jan 2025
The Video Gamers Podcast is back with another incredible episode of This Week in Gaming. Gaming hosts Josh and Ryan are back chatting the latest gaming news. Oh baby, has it been a good week for gaming news! We got the Xbox Developer Direct showcase and extended looks at a slew of games, and our hype is high! Plus more Split Fiction gameplay? Yes please! All the video game news you need, each and every week from the Video Gamers Podcast! Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Ol’ Jake, Disratory and Gaius Connect with the show: Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/videogamerspod Join our Gaming Discord: https://discord.gg/Dsx2rgEEbz Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/videogamerspod/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VideoGamersPod Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU12YOMnAQwqFZEdfXv9c3Q Visit us on the web: https://videogamerspod.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What charity event is being announced?
Hey everybody, it's Josh and Ryan. Don't hit that skip button. We have a huge announcement for you. As many of you know, our good friend Paul and former host of the show runs an amazing charity to help foster families and foster children. And we are announcing our very first charity event ever and we've made it very easy for you to help. Ryan, tell them what they need to do.
All they have to do is head on over to our Discord server. The link is in the episode description and share a screenshot showing that you follow the podcast and have given it five stars. If you have Apple and Spotify, double dipping is highly encouraged. And for every person that does that, Josh, what's going to happen?
For every person that shares a screenshot, we are going to donate $10 to the charity to help these families and these children. No gamer left behind. No kids left behind. Now enjoy this episode. Hello, fellow gamers, and welcome to the Video Gamers Podcast. On this episode of This Week in Gaming, we're breaking down the Xbox Developer Direct and talking about a slew of awesome games.
Chapter 2: What are the highlights from the Xbox Developer Direct?
South of Midnight? Check. Ninja Gaiden 4? Check. Claire Obscura Expedition 33? Check, check. And Doom the Dark Ages? Check, check, check, check, check.
as well as some new gameplay from split fiction the co-op successor to it takes two before we get into the fun though some introductions are in order i am your host josh and joining me if i'm the fast light fighter jet he's the slow chunky tank a clunky clunky tank who's ready to stand and fight it's ryan
You know, that is quite poignant, obviously, because just today in our Discord, and I don't know if this is what clued you in on that, I talked about how I made a batch of chili and I ate four chili dogs for lunch after my workout today. So I'm bulking. Are you going to make it through this episode? I'm bulking, bro. Permabulk.
I'm worried for your gastrointestinal comfort, man. Four chili dogs. Dude, I'm hungry again, actually. Oh my goodness. I'm not a fan of chili dogs. Believe it or not. I love me a hot dog. I just don't want chili on it. Like I want like, give me a Chicago dog, like standard, just mustard, ketchup, relish dog, something like that. But it's like the chili just gets wasted or I don't know, man.
I know that's a weird take because a lot of people love chili. I'm not a fan of chili dogs.
You're boo boo this man.
Welcome to a hot dog podcast, everybody. I was going to say, get to the games. Yeah. Oh, and do we have some amazing games to talk about? Man, it's rare that we get, you know, any kind of game showcase where it's like everything that they talk about. I'm like, ooh. Ooh, that looks good. Like, okay, you know, this game looks interesting, but usually I'm just like, skip, skip, skip.
Okay, this one looks awesome. Let's talk about that. But yeah, man, we got some good stuff to talk about, and we're going to get right into that. But first... Ryan, we got somebody to thank, buddy. We had a new epic supporter sign up to support the podcast. A fine fellow by the name of Patrick O'Brien. Thank you so much for supporting this podcast.
Everybody that's listening right now is cheering in their heads because you helped make this podcast possible.
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Chapter 3: What can we expect from Doom: The Dark Ages?
What are your thoughts on this, man?
Well, first, my first kind of thought was, as I watched the whole thing, I was just envisioning you watching it, giggling like a little girl. Oh, that's 100% accurate. That's exactly the first thing I thought of. But the second was... This looks pretty sweet, man. I'm not going to lie. From someone who hasn't played, I'm craving just an aggressive, angry, if you will, just dark, violent game.
And this seems like... you know, this is the one and there still is, there still is movement. I know you talked about like the old, you know, with eternal, like the grappling hook and other things in this, I saw him, he jumped over a broken bridge. He throws his shield and you kind of, when you call back your shield, it, it does a little pull to you.
He used that as a mechanic to get over that gap. He like threw it up above and then pulled himself forward. So there still is mobility, which is nice. Cause I, I hate being slow in games. Yeah. I agree with that a hundred percent slow. So, um, yeah, the, the, the, The gameplay, the graphics, the fighting, everything about it looked clean and crisp and just ready to destroy.
I was amped up and ready to just kill things after I watched this. It gets you there, right?
I'm hyped right now, man. I feel like I want to just shield bash something. Boom. Yeah, I mean, I cannot see a world where this game does not live up to the expectation, to be honest with you.
The only thing I can think of is like if you don't like the kind of shift in the gameplay mentality where, hey, you are this tank, you are strong, you are going to stand in front of these fantastic demons and you are going to face tank them. You know, like I could get that. Maybe some people are like, man, I really liked the movement in this kind of ballet of destruction from Doom Eternal.
This game feels a little bit different than that. And so I'm not a huge fan. But otherwise, these guys know what they're doing. What we have seen already is enough to tell me that this is absolutely going to be a banger of a game, man. I like it.
this is at the top of my hype meter and we're going to talk about another game that I am very excited about next, but like doom, the dark ages for me is just my kind of game. It's like you said, if you're in the mood for that gritty dark, like I want to just face like the hordes of hell, you know, as doom guy and just rip and tear until it is done.
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Chapter 4: How does the new gameplay in Doom differ from previous games?
We virtually high-fived. I went, dude, you have no idea how happy this makes me that Ryan has to play this game because I am so hyped for it. And you are not. And it's like, can this change your mind? It's fine. It's fine. This is fine. So you got a little bit of, I want you to kind of take this one, Ryan. Okay.
Because we got an even further look at this game as far as some of the characters, some of the combat. They showcased a lot more of the very cinematic combat with like quick time events to kind of get those perfect hits and blocks and things like that. What do you think, Ryan?
Well, I'm used to being forced to play games, apparently, since this will be my fourth time in a row getting picked. So I don't know what I did to hurt... I don't know who I hurt, but apparently it was a lot of people. But this game... It actually looks pretty cool. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. Now, having said that, I said it looks cool. I said it looks cool. It looks beautiful.
The fight sequences look amazing. My biggest thing, and you said it and everybody knows it, is I just am not a fan of turn-based combat. I hate my characters just standing there, like, kind of waving back and forth, waiting for their turn. Like, oh yeah, because this is how a real battle would work, you know? And we'd all just sit and wait. And I...
Ryan, the strategy, you get to... Oh, it's so much more strategic and you get to set everything up and you get to do your defenses. Which is true. Which is all true. I'm not denying that. But it doesn't mean that I cannot, you know, I can't not like that. I want to just go in and like we talked about with Doom, I want to bash faces. You know, so I get it. And I can appreciate that level.
So it's not to say I'll dislike the game. It's not to say that, you know, I mean... Dude, I haven't played a turn-based combat game in a very long time for, you know, good reason in my opinion. Maybe this one turns me around. Who knows?
That's my hope, man. I mean, it really is. And I know it was Fitner John, a.k.a. John Tastico now, that picked this game. People are going to be hearing that name a lot more here in this next episode. So stay tuned for that little teaser there as well. But John picked this game for you to play. And my instant hope was if there is a game...
that could change your mind on this one then i'm really hoping that this is it dude like i i don't know like it's weird to me because i love turn-based combat and it's funny because somebody in our in our community was like hey this kind of reminds me of like persona 5 royales combat and then i kind of went like don't say that because i didn't love that combat so much yeah
But I historically do love the tactical nature of turn-based combat. I like that this character's near death, but the creature's almost dead. Do you go for the big hit and hope that you win the fight? Do you heal the character, but then now the boss gets an attack? You know, that kind of thing. I like that just kind of thinking about how you're going to approach this.
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Chapter 5: What are the features of Claire Obscura Expedition 33?
Yes, finally. Oh my goodness, dude. I had no idea that this game was coming. We got this announcement. We got a fairly extensive gameplay footage of this game. And, dude, I remember the old Ninja Gaiden games. These games were not easy. They were hard. You felt like a ninja, though, at the same time. I'm kind of shocked by this announcement and then this gameplay on this one, to be honest.
I've watched this trailer actually more than the other two because it's like there's so much going on. And the combat is over the top. I mean, they really showcased a lot of stuff.
traversal, double jumps, wall running, you know, tons and tons of like over the top combat, multiple enemies, a kind of, you know, zoomed out third person view on this one a little bit, which I think serves this game very, very well. Um, I'll be honest. In all honesty, I've been out of the Ninja Gaiden mindset for a while. I can't remember the last one I played.
I know that they have had versions of this, but none of them have caught my eye or gotten a lot of hype from people for me to pay attention to. But boy, am I paying attention now, man.
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. What is it? You had my curiosity. Now you have my attention.
Yeah, and that is where I'm at.
Yeah, it's big. I think the last one I played, which I was...
an immense fan of was i think two back on the 360 um i don't know how many because you know sometimes they don't go in order the side scroller ones right was this the side the last one i played was a side scroll oh you know this was like that was back to like nintendo or what that's the one i remember that's way back that's way way back the one i played i think i played like the first and the second feels one or two i think it was two but this is still like a 3d world um
Or at least the one I played was, like, a 3D open world that you ran around in it. I mean, it's funny because remembering back 15 years ago, I feel like it looks like Gaiden 4 is going to look like now, you know? You remember the graphics so vividly back then and think they were beautiful. But, dude, it was such a good game and...
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Chapter 6: Will Ryan enjoy turn-based combat games?
It's like a superhero. I got so hyped. This is the one I'm most excited for, for sure.
Yeah. I mean, everything I saw in this just made me go like, whoa. Like, whoa. Again, traversal elements. I thought this was really neat. At one point, he kind of grapple hooks and then wall runs off of a wall and then double jumps over to another wall. And I'm like, I love that kind of almost platformer timing element to it. Yep. Over-the-top combat.
I mean, fighting a whole bunch of dudes, super showy, just moves and spinning around and leaping and stuff like that. They showed a big boss fight. He does some huge overhead smash where it looks like his sword is all charged up and long. And I don't know if you get different weapons in this game or what, but... I was very impressed with this trailer.
And like I said, I've always known that Ninja Gaiden is a good franchise. But again, I've been out of it for a long time. And Ninja Gaiden 4 is absolutely getting me back into this franchise. And I can't help but think, if you're Xbox, that's what you want to hear. Right.
exactly it's like dude we're back baby yeah yeah they need it bad too yeah this is not for like niche gamers anymore this is mainstream like ninja guide and we're bringing it to the world and we've got the world's attention now um the only downside to this one is it is coming out in fall of 2025 so this one is a little bit later this year uh they didn't give us an exact month or date or anything like that see you in 2026
Yeah. Dude, I'm the same way, man. Anytime I hear late 2025, I just go, so you mean delayed to 2026, right?
We're not jaded or anything. We swear. Oh, man.
So, all right. Well, yeah. So if you haven't seen any of these trailers, look them up because, man, these games look really, really good. And then we get to South of Midnight. And that was a weird transition because I'm actually cautiously excited for this game.
But I will be honest, this is the game where I look at it and I go from an artistic standpoint and a music standpoint because they've really focused on that. I think this game is absolutely a work of art. We said that from the very first time we got a glimpse of this game. I am from the Deep South. I lived in Louisiana for 10 years.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of Ninja Gaiden 4?
Chapter 8: How excited are they for upcoming game releases?
Usually with their games, one person buys the game and then the other person gets to play for free. That person just can't launch the game and play with other people. So it's like, this guy has the right attitude, in my opinion, on how he approaches things. The other thing I like is I am the kind of guy where I love variety. Yeah.
let me go to a restaurant and order like two bites of everything that's on the menu. And I will be super happy. Like I don't, you know, sometimes I don't want to just commit to the one entree and I really wish I could sample things. And so with split fiction, this is a hundred percent. What they're doing is they're saying we love variety of gameplay and anybody that has played.
It takes two understands this because they did that exactly with that game as well. Um, I will say split fiction to me looks way better than it takes to like, I thought it takes to look fun and it was fun. It was not game of the year material in my opinion, but I had a great time playing that game. Yeah. Like it was fun. It was simple. It was enjoyable and that's all it needed to be.
It had crazy elephant murder scene, you know, which is, you know, people still talk about, but yeah, Split fiction to me looks like the evolution of what they were going for. And I am by nature, a huge fan of fantasy and sci-fi. You know, some people would call that a nerd. So call me a nerd if you want, but I love fantasy and sci-fi and that's the focus of this game.
Like you have these two characters, one lives in a fantasy world or loves fantasy. The other one loves sci-fi and this game mixes those two things. At one point, you're in a futuristic Tron world riding some crazy motorcycle and trying to, like, race your way through some floating obstacle course. And then in the other game, you're, like, riding dragons.
Or, you know, in the other world, you're riding dragons. And then it's like a shooter almost. You know, like a shoot-em-up type game with the old spaceships where you just, you know, there's bullets everywhere and stuff like that. And that just tickles something inside me, man. And it's just like, I get really excited when I see that. I think this game looks fantastic, dude.
Oh, dude, I'm right there with you. And I mean, talk about, we were, I mean, kind of the theme of the day is talking about movement. Like this thing, like everything I looked at, you're just flipping and jumping and speaking of wall runs. And then you're, like you said, you're, you're flying through space and, uh, This one, I'm the same way. I'm like, oh, look at Dragon.
And I'm like, oh, look at Spaceship. That's how my brain is just... I love both things. And putting them together is that beautiful meld of just fun. And I think the gameplay, that's what it's going to be. It's just going to be fun. I'm so stoked to... I don't play a lot of games with my daughter. Uh, she, she is very finicky on what she likes to play.
I really think I'll be able to get her to play this one, especially since it's a female, you know, character and, and she'll resonate with it and just, and have a blast. Uh, I think it's going to be fantastic. I also very much love, I know we've talked before about side quests and going off and not missing like parts of levels and things like that.
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