All My Best Friends Are Digital – Details, episodes & analysis

How six years can change an industry--from local deathmatch FPS being all the rage (Perfect Dark), to online co-op third-person cover-hugging (Gears of War: Reloaded). What We're Playing 00:52 Mark: Marfusha: Sentinel Girls (hinyari9, 2021) 10:16 Caitlin: PEAK (Team PEAK, 2025) 20:15 GOOF: Perfect Dark (Rare, 2000) 39:27 Feature Game: Gears of War: Reloaded (The Coalition, 2025) SHOUT 1:03:22 Mark: Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch (Ocean Drive Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metroidvania is a very popular formula. We see how much has it changed in the twenty years between its formalization in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and its indie apotheosis in Hollow Knight. What We're Playing 00:54 Caitlin: Coral Island (Stairway Games, 2023) 17:35 Mark: Mortal Sin (Nikita Todorovic, 2025) 27:05 GOOF: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami, 1997) 42:50 Feature Game: Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017) SHOUT 1:00:49 Caitlin: Resident Evil: Requiem (Capcom) 1:02:04 Mark: Runa (Fennec) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's protagonist vs. protagonist week here at AMBFAD, and we repeatedly ask--why can't we all just get along? First it's Spy vs. Spy, and then Jan vs. Jan in The Alters. What We're Playing 01:41 Caitlin: A Building Full of Cats 2 (Devcats, 2025) 08:45 Mark: Star Trek: The Next Generation (NES/GB, Imagineering, 1993) 20:25 GOOF: Spy vs. Spy (GBC, Kemco, 1999) 32:50 Feature Game: The Alters (11 Bit Studios, 2025) 35:26 Spoilers Begin 36:52 Spoilers End SHOUT 55:03 Caitlin: Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix) 56:46 Mark: Pragmata (Capcom) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We run, we gun, we laugh, and we cry with Azure Striker: Gunvolt, and then we overcome jank and feel the call to adventure with Oblivion: Remastered. What We're Playing 01:04 Mark: Bleed 2 (Ian Campbell, 2017) 10:33 Caitlin: Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD, 2025) 23:28 GOOF: Azure Striker Gunvolt (Inti Creates, 2014) 39:27 Feature Game: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered (Bethesda, 2025) SHOUT 58:18 Caitlin: Beast of Reincarnation (GAME FREAK) 59:26 Mark: Blighted (DrinkBox Studios) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talk a bit about accessibility in gaming, which is sadly all too often left to modders rather than the developers themselves. The games on the agenda (super serious) are Metroid Prime and Monster Train 2. What We're Playing 01:19 Caitlin: R.E.P.O. (semiwork, 2025) 03:28 Caitlin: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Square Enix, 2024) 07:00 Mark: Iron Meat (Retroware, 2024) 16:32 GOOF: Metroid Prime (Retro Studios, 2002) 35:12 Feature Game: Monster Train 2 (Shiny Shoe, 2025) SHOUT 53:18 Caitlin: The Expanse: Osiris Reborn (Owlcat Games) 54:10 Mark: Elden Ring: NIGHTREIGN patch (From Software) 55:34 Mark: Kunitsu-Gami: Otherworldly Venture (Capcom) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We look back to the 3DS and Fire Emblem: Awakening, and question how weak the sauce is in Doom: The Dark Ages. What We're Playing 01:00 Mark: Death Road to Canada (Rocketcat Games, 2016) 12:59 Caitlin: Path of Exile 2 (Grinding Gear Games, 2024) 24:31 GOOF: Fire Emblem: Awakening (Intelligent Systems, 2012) 47:34 Feature Game: Doom: The Dark Ages (id, 2025) SHOUT 1:08:08 Caitlin: Gold Gold Adventure Gold (Can Can Can a Man) 1:09:38 Mark: Fallen Fates (Hibernian Workshop) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We finish our spoiler-free discussion of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Caitlin expresses the view that she was tricked into playing Flashback: The Quest for Identity. What We're Playing 01:30 Caitlin: Do No Harm (Darts Games, 2025) 10:30 Mark: Void War (Tundra, 2025) 21:44 GOOF: Flashback: The Quest for Identity (Delphine Software, 1992) 35:39 Feature Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, 2025) SHOUT 1:05:47 Caitlin: DELTARUNE (tobyfox) 1:06:56 Mark: Elden Ring NIGHTREIGN (From Software) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the end of the world in both the N64's Sin and Punishment and the new Clair Obscur, and there's lots of ennui to be had. What We're Playing 01:05 Mark: Power Stone 2 (Capcom, 2000) 12:27 Caitlin: Forever Skies (Far From Home, 2025) 17:36 GOOF: Sin & Punishment: Successor of the Earth (Treasure, 2000) 33:23 Feature Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, 2025) SHOUT 1:05:06 Mark: Gears of War: Reloaded (The Coalition) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The N64 continues its redemption tour with F-Zero X, and South of Midnight is a strange mix of the novel and the derivative. What We're Playing 00:50 Caitlin: R.E.P.O. (semiwork, 2025) 11:55 Mark: Astral Ascent (Hibernian Workshop, 2023) 19:01 GOOF: F-Zero X (Nintendo EAD, 1998) 34:34 Feature Game: South of Midnight (Compulsion Games, 2025) SHOUT 1:00:23 Caitlin: Date Everything (Sassy Chap Games)  1:01:43 Mark: Ayaneo Pocket ACE (Ayaneo) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We navigate the twisting labyrinths of the human mind in Psychonauts, as well as the twisting labyrinths of the puzzling mansion(s) of Blue Prince. What We're Playing 01:27 Mark: It Takes Two (Hazelight, 2021) 13:03 Caitlin: R.E.P.O. (semiwork, 2025) 19:21 GOOF: Psychonauts (Double Fine Productions, 2005) 38:37 Feature Game: Blue Prince (Dogubomb, 2025) SHOUT 1:04:46 Caitlin and Mark: Malys (Summerfall Studios) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices