Summon Sign, Episode 48 | S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is Quality Eurojank
Added 2024-11-26 17:00:10 +0000 UTCThis week Lock and Cog join Brad and discuss S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Avowed, Pokémon Emerald, and more!
Please make note of the Metaphor: Refantazio timestamp as it contains some spoilers
Timestamps:
0:00:00 - Intro
00:11:51 - STALKER 2
00:43:59 - Avowed
01:07:44 - Sort It Out/Keep It Up
01:30:29 - Pokemon Emerald
01:44:36 - Dragon Age: The Veilguard
02:15:45 - Metaphor: ReFantazio (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
02:33:26 - Closing Questions
Comments
Wow thanks for spoiling tf out of Metaphor and with zero spoiler warning to boot. God damn. If you're reading this and also playing through Metaphor then I suggest you stop listening at 2:20. Super lame cog
Luke Oliveto
2024-12-02 18:13:57 +0000 UTCSnorlax is also my favorite Pokemon! Lock is dead on with the Veilguard criticism. The issues have nothing to do with “woke”.
TheMuff1nMon
2024-11-30 15:00:43 +0000 UTCMan, Lock's opinion on "controversial" games is always the same "oh the anti-woke don't even play the game and call it shit, I played it and it was OK-ish, good" he did that with suicide squad and doing it now with veilguard, you don't have to disagree with everything people you don't like say. Also the reason that people didn't have a problem with origins for being "progressive" or BG3 for being "woke" is because the games were well written and competently made, meaning people played them and they were judged accordingly. I also dislike people that judge stuff before they come out, but sometimes when it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck then... It's funny how many times it has happened that people have judged a game from the first trailer and it comes out and it is as bad or worse than it was judged.
Fotis Lyto
2024-11-30 10:29:03 +0000 UTCI don’t trust anything Cog says.
Steve Bitto
2024-11-29 16:26:38 +0000 UTCSummon Sign is my favorite LSM show. Brad is such a talented host. Thankful he joined the team!
Steve Bitto
2024-11-29 14:16:00 +0000 UTCGreat show, guys. Love your thoughtful takes.
Greta Thu’umberg HOW-DARE-YOUing Big Oil execs off a skyscraper
2024-11-29 11:46:17 +0000 UTCOh btw the answer to this: "You asked 2 sperate times in 2 seperate posts to ask clarify questions about what your opinion is on the game, did you not?" Is no, I did not. I said one time to feel free to ask clarifying questions, and the second time I was telling Lock that just because we disagree doesn't mean he shouldn't do so if he doesn't understand. In the second instance, I wouldn't consider that "asking" him to ask questions. I was making a point that disagreeing doesn't mean we can't understand each other.
Zac
2024-11-28 19:28:44 +0000 UTCKk 👍
Zac
2024-11-28 19:25:23 +0000 UTCYou asked 2 separate times in 2 separate posts to ask clarifying questions about what your opinion is on the game, did you not? I came asking you a clarifying question and you don’t want to tell me what ideology is being pushed in this game. I think the reality is you know the answer probably isn’t rooted in anything substantive and probably makes you look bad.
Taylor Laduron
2024-11-28 19:07:29 +0000 UTCWhat do you mean "so badly"? Because I said feel free to ask clarifying questions that means I must be absolutely clamouring for someone to ask a clarifying question? Why are you framing it like that? And why are you pretending to not know what ideology is being pushed? The answer to both of those is because you're asking in bad faith. Again, I'm not going to engage with you if you can't have an honest conversation. I'm more than open to having a discussion about the game and the controversy, just not with bad faith actors.
Zac
2024-11-28 19:00:06 +0000 UTCYou wanted so badly for somebody to ask clarifying questions regarding your opinion…so, here I am. Clarify what ideology is being pushed here.
Taylor Laduron
2024-11-28 18:49:35 +0000 UTCI can't wait for everyone at LSM to be done with Metaphor hahaha. I know it's not a game for me. Just seems like the game will never end lol
Derek Alcott
2024-11-28 17:26:26 +0000 UTCYou know what ideology they're forcing down your throat stop pretending like you don't. I'm not going to engage with someone who isn't going to have an honest conversation.
Zac
2024-11-28 14:38:34 +0000 UTCAmazing episode guys! Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker is the greates sci-fi film of all time alongside Interstellar imo. It’s crazy how this masterpiece ended up killing him years later due to radiation.
Breno Bezerra Bluhm
2024-11-28 13:54:46 +0000 UTCJust curious here, you say “…it’s a victim of the creators forcing their ideology into the game at the expense of what made the games good in the first place.” What ideology are they forcing on people?
Taylor Laduron
2024-11-28 09:16:02 +0000 UTC<3 -Lock
Lockmort
2024-11-28 08:51:05 +0000 UTCGg
Joshua
2024-11-27 23:26:52 +0000 UTCJust wanna say, Lock? Low-key my favorite guest on the pods. Even though he's European, which says a lot ;)
Ethan Barcelos
2024-11-27 20:46:45 +0000 UTCI'm literally not angry wtf lmao
Zac
2024-11-27 20:41:18 +0000 UTCHell yeah Brad. Mudkip represent. I also went water starters for the first 3. Lock is another Squirtle Squad member too?! LSM represent! So far we’ve got Dagan, Brad, and Lock. 😎 Props to Lock on the Dragon Age discussion. I’m about half-way through the game and it’s just ok. Writing and scenarios can be atrocious at times.
NeO JD
2024-11-27 17:53:30 +0000 UTCSure, that's a completely fair point and I agree. (I did like Mass Effect 3 though, apart from the original ending) - Lock
Lockmort
2024-11-27 17:07:29 +0000 UTCI know my gaming tastes well enough to not give EA $70 when I see the awful marketing, gameplay, and dialogue. And Mass Effect 3 is bad. Don’t tell me you actually like Kai Leng or the Illusive Man’s pointless villian arc in that game. And that’s without getting into the universally panned ending.
WashedAF
2024-11-27 17:05:12 +0000 UTCThis is not meant as a personal insult or a way to attack you, but look at the way you're talking here, which was my point. You think that's normal behavior, calling people weirdos and the game "a piece of shit" while you haven't even played it or know who wrote it? It's written by the same "weirdo" who was on the team that also wrote Mass Effect 2, 3, Inquisition and was the lead writer for the Trespasser DLC. The culture war nonsense has been "inserted by the devs" in every Dragon Age game, but it's the absence of choice in this one that's the problem. I don't think it's a great game at all, it has bad writing, bland characters, and okay gameplay. So in that regard it gets no defense from me. -Lock
Lockmort
2024-11-27 16:24:12 +0000 UTCI think it looks absolutely class. Waiting on a patch but definitely my type of game.
Matt
2024-11-27 16:06:41 +0000 UTCYou’re getting pretty serious and angry over a video game bud
Matt
2024-11-27 16:05:46 +0000 UTCLock’s defense of Veilguard was pretty pathetic. The culture war nonsense was inserted by the devs, not the community. Look at the weirdos they hired to write that piece of shit.
WashedAF
2024-11-27 15:38:31 +0000 UTCBeen waiting for the Lock Veilguard talk!
Noah Friscopp
2024-11-27 14:46:03 +0000 UTCBrad called Blastoise a giant war turtle but the second evolution form is called Wartortle.. 🫡
NecrumOddBoy
2024-11-27 12:36:23 +0000 UTCRegarding Lock’s point that BG3 has plenty of LGBT content, so why doesn’t anyone care. That’s not the gotcha, we’re all hypocrites moment he presents it as. The “why not” IS the reason. The writing and how those themes are presented between those two games are miles apart. DA is cringe at best and incredibly condescending at worst. BG3 incorporates that content in a very organic, well written way.
Dante B
2024-11-27 00:43:18 +0000 UTCYeah what happened to Matty was complete BS and was definitely fueled by the culture war, I definitely agree with that. To me, that came from a different place than the overall criticism of the game, but then again it wasn't as personal to me as it undoubtedly is to you so I get how you can have a much different perspective. But yes the end of the game is undoubtedly great! I actually didn't click with the other games for whatever reason I tried Origins back in the day and dropped it after a couple hours, but I wanted to try Veilguard because of the fervor surrounding it. I just wish the rest of the game was as impactful the last act, but the writing is really what disappointed me the most. Bioware is a long way from Mass Effect and I'm really not optimistic for the next ME because of it, which is unfortunate.
Zac Lebeau
2024-11-26 23:29:27 +0000 UTCI’ve never stopped playing Warcraft 3 since 2003, including the Reforged launch. So for Lock and anyone else, trust me, 2.0 isn’t perfect, but it’s huge and just have a lot of life to my favorite game of all time. The numerous new graphics options are great and the multiplayer is everything I ever wanted.
Dante B
2024-11-26 23:10:15 +0000 UTCThinking the A-life 2.0 will just be patched in a few weeks is really unlikely..
Michael
2024-11-26 22:12:42 +0000 UTCThis didn’t show on my rss feed
Jack Reynolds
2024-11-26 22:11:45 +0000 UTCSomeone is coping hard on stalker 2. The game is a big mess right now.
william planas
2024-11-26 21:35:37 +0000 UTCCog being scared to say Heismays name for spoiler reasons then name dropping an endgame mechanic that you only get 60 hours into the game is super funny to me lmaoo It's without context so i think it's overall okay, was just funny to me
Tanner Paddock
2024-11-26 21:20:42 +0000 UTCConstellation appeared yesterday on the podcast app I use (Pocket Casts) but Summon Sign still has not! Any ideas?
Ulysses Motherfucker!
2024-11-26 21:13:46 +0000 UTCI understand what you're saying, see where you're coming from, and think it's an interesting discussion, but I just don't agree with that particular part of the assessment. Here's my thought process to explain it better: Matty almost got cancelled by people who didn't play this game since it wasn't even out yet at the time. I think we can agree that had little to do with the writing, since they couldn't have known how atrocious that was yet, but more so with the culture war debacle attached to it. Thousands upon thousands of messages and accusations by people furiously hating and misunderstanding what Dragon Age is, all because it was either for or against their ideology. To be clear, this was from both sides. I saw this happening in real time, so to me, that's not a strawman argument, even though, again, I understand where you're coming from. At least we can agree on the most important part which is why The Veilguard is not a great game (to us). I am curious to hear what you thought of the ending as a fan of the series. Did you like how it wrapped everything up? - Lock
Lockmort
2024-11-26 21:04:47 +0000 UTCGen 3 of pokemon is a sweet spot for me. The games are so beautiful to me.
Tanner Denso
2024-11-26 20:57:16 +0000 UTCI mean yeah I agree we just disagree and no hard feelings, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to understand what I'm saying and ask clarifying questions to understand it lmao
Zac Lebeau
2024-11-26 20:52:17 +0000 UTCI think we just disagree and that's fine. No hard feelings. All good. - Lock
Lockmort
2024-11-26 20:46:23 +0000 UTCIt isn't literally what you said. You strawmaned one side of the argument and then claimed them to be ridiculous. That isn't what's going on. You're right that we're in agreement with most of what you said, but there are key differences that I'm point out. I completely disagree that Veilguard is any sort of victim of the culture war, which you're claiming they are. Reread my comment because I don't think you're understanding. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions of my opinion.
Zac Lebeau
2024-11-26 20:42:38 +0000 UTCBut that's basically what I said at the end... The only difference is that (imo) the culture war debacle heightened the two polarising sides, filled with people who didn't actually play the game (on both sides), or the ones before, because they heard it was "woke", not realising every game in the franchise had progressive ideology. So does BG3, but people actually played that game, and the writing was excellent. We fully agree that the absence of choice combined with poor writing are why The Veilguard isn't a great game. - Lock
Lockmort
2024-11-26 20:37:16 +0000 UTCI completely disagree with Lock's take on Veilguard. The game is incredibly poorly written and the fact that "no one cares" that every character in Baldur's Gate 3 is romancable is proof that it isn't about the "wokeness" it's about the ATROCIOUS writing. It's also about the complete lack of meaningful choice. And to say that the anti-woke crowds main criticism is that there's a trans person and that's "completely untrue" because they're non-binary is just completely missing the point. The main criticism I see is of the writing. Finding the most fringe people and saying "that's the main criticism" is a strawman. The fact that, as you point out, no one had a problem with the progressivism in the other games is proof that you're strawmaning. That isn't the problem. The writing is the problem, and that is what MOST of the "anti-woke" criticism, as you call it, is about. So no, Veilguard isn't a victim of the culture or whatever Lock wants to blame it on. It's a victim of the creators forcing their ideology into the game at the expense of what made the games good in the first place. And all that so they can talk down to the player while putting themselves on a moral pedestal.
Zac Lebeau
2024-11-26 20:06:15 +0000 UTCIf you are a Warcraft 3 fan check out Warcraft 2 Chronicles of the second war. It's the entire warcraft 2 orc campaign done in warcraft 3, with fully voiced cutscenes.
Strav 23
2024-11-26 19:47:49 +0000 UTCRespectfully i disagree Locke, Dragon Age 1&2 had amazing writing.
Deathspank
2024-11-26 19:41:51 +0000 UTCIt piqued my interest to hear Obsidian would be taking a crack at a Skyrim-like rpg set in the PoE universe but the more I see of it, the more mid it looks. I’ll probably skip it unless my trusted reviewers rave about it, which I highly doubt will be the case
Katana Silver
2024-11-26 18:56:09 +0000 UTCAnyone else think avowed doesn’t look that great?
Mike
2024-11-26 18:32:20 +0000 UTCJank TUAH
Greta Thu’umberg HOW-DARE-YOUing Big Oil execs off a skyscraper
2024-11-26 18:21:00 +0000 UTCCog and Loc are by far the most fun to listen to when it comes to them describing games. You guys are really passionate. Love it.
Whisk3ywhisk3y
2024-11-26 18:17:08 +0000 UTCGrateful for Summon Sign and the addition of Brad. Best show on LSM
Johnny
2024-11-26 17:52:50 +0000 UTCI guess I won’t get stalker on my ROG ally since it might not run well, I’ll wait for ps5
Yeti ATL
2024-11-26 17:45:01 +0000 UTCThank you boys for taking my question 👍🏻
ajwhite
2024-11-26 17:22:38 +0000 UTCI’m playing stalker 2 on pc with a 4090 and it’s just too rough right now to recommend. Once optimized it would be a great title to play but currently people should probably gauge their expectations on the current polish.
Zachary
2024-11-26 17:09:18 +0000 UTCEuro that jank!
Aladin_Run
2024-11-26 17:03:11 +0000 UTC
