667. 1Upsmanship: GOTY 2023
Added 2023-12-27 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
Let’s finish this. 2023 has been said to be potentially the best year of gaming ever. Why is that? What games have really stood out this year? Do Michael and Adam think that the crown should go to Balder’s Gate? Zelda? An indie game? Another Mario? You have to listen to find out in this special year-ending episode of 1Upsmanship.
Michael Swaim: https://twitter.com/SWAIM_CORP
Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz
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Comments
Ahhh I need to upgrade my membership! Thank you!!!
Maddy
2024-09-20 19:46:58 +0000 UTC1Upsmanship releases every two weeks on the patreon. $5 tier. Next episode is in a week. Sekiro was last week. Usually Fridays.
Small Beans
2024-09-20 19:39:36 +0000 UTCAm I missing where some 1upsmanship episodes are? I joined Patreon because I thought they were hidden behind a pay wall but they’re still hardly any new ones 😅
Maddy
2024-09-20 18:56:58 +0000 UTCMike you are correct. I turned it off 14 mins in
Ramonalisa
2024-01-14 23:42:10 +0000 UTCI ended up paying 20 for cocoon, but oh boy I really enjoyed it. And I mean… $20 for 5 hours of entertainment is honestly worth it imo. A movie and some popcorn costs the same….
Colin Harrington
2024-01-08 08:06:51 +0000 UTCI fully understand that we're beating a dead horse here, so at the risk of reaching "old man yells at clouds" status; I just want to emphasize that I think your heart is in the right place. I think the stance you're taking here is honorable, but not admirable if that makes any sense. I know Mike and Adam don't need me to defend them, but I believe they have made some form of protestation against this game. Clearly not enough for you, so we're really just arguing about who's protesting hard enough. I think that putting your allies through that type of pass/fail purity test is not helping the cause the way you think it is. The cost/benefit analysis of alienating people who almost completely agree with you seems more important than grading how offended they are. I'm not trying to rob you of your ability to express your opinion, by all means let us know how you feel. We're all friends here, and friends have the unique opportunity to call each other out on stuff, but ideally afterwards we continue being friends. It just felt like you were quick to disregard everything they've done in the past to be a voice for the voiceless, once they crossed the invisible line in your head.
Joylesstiger
2024-01-02 19:33:11 +0000 UTCYeah, playing DnD is great, but a video game exists on my schedule alone.
Darren Hanratty
2024-01-01 11:22:22 +0000 UTC@Joylestiger: You came in with whataboutism, and stated that you thought the guys made "more than enough effort". This person disagrees.
Darren Hanratty
2024-01-01 11:21:15 +0000 UTCYour misapprehension appears to be that I think this makes them bad, and my enemy. I am not their moral arbiter, they can do what they want. But I will not support them when they make a choice that I believe is hurtful, and my "scolding" was an attempt to try and publicly express to them how their choices can hurt people, and what they might do to make that right. It ultimately comes down to this for me: What is the cost/benefit analysis in covering this game? Why do something that you know will hurt people you claim to care about when the only downside is not playing or publicly discussing a game? I know this is part of their job, but there are plenty of games each year they do not cover. To not list this game in their top games would not only be the kind thing to do, it would at most only piss off the worst kinds of people. Most people would not have batted an eye if the Wizard game was not listed on a top games list. And most of all, it just feels extra crappy to hear them do this after saying nothing about it for so long, and after being typically staunch allies to the vulnerable people in question here. If it wasn't clear that they care, what would be the point in trying to sway them?
Fromage D'amour
2023-12-31 07:08:14 +0000 UTCOP definitely thinks Mike and Adam are "wrong". So much so that they need financially punished and publicly scolded for their transgressions. Playing a video game about wizards doesn't make you a TERF apologist.
Joylesstiger
2023-12-31 06:51:51 +0000 UTCJust played cocoon based on this after playing limbo and inside earlier this year. Thank you so much for drawing attention. Limbo and inside I got on mega sale for like $2 and they blew me and my kids away. Paying $30 for a game like cocoon blew my mind. The puzzles were definitely different and made me think more multi-dimenaionally then any puzzle game in the past. Reminded me of a 2d version of oduction (from cyan the makers of myst and riven).
jackson9
2023-12-30 02:38:08 +0000 UTCpatiently awaiting your 1hr 45min deep dive into the “Cow Tools” Far Side strip, and the much lauded 17min aside on the topic of the “Calvin Pissing” bumper sticker
E l i j a h
2023-12-29 06:52:30 +0000 UTCI also think that it is actually a pretty big compliment to say that a game emulates a pure imagination game so well that it makes you want to play it. That is not a negative but a massive positive. You don't have to like BG3, but saying it is not as open/good as a dnd campaign run by a professional writer is an impossibly hard bar to clear, and the fact it gets close is amazing!
Spencer Carter
2023-12-28 19:57:11 +0000 UTCI think everyone draws the line somewhere, and I don't think someone can be "wrong" on it. You may disagree, but everyone weights different actions differently. they may stand up for trans rights, but I 100% understand why some people in the community view the inclusion as a betrayal of those values. Everyone has different limits, and past actions don't insulate you from criticism. I also didn't love that they had it on the list (partially because it's giving cover to people who needed it to be amazing to justify being shitty, partially cause it gives money and positive exposure to JKR's world, and partially cause I think it is not that good of a game in a pretty objective sense.
Spencer Carter
2023-12-28 19:54:00 +0000 UTCOne of the great things about this podcast is how you make your audience aware of great games that we might not have heard of. I really doubt most gaming podcasts are covering stuff like Obra Dinn, Norco, and Inscryption.
Scottie Wottie
2023-12-28 16:52:08 +0000 UTCBalders gate was boring I could not finish it either.
Cyclops giraffe
2023-12-28 10:31:30 +0000 UTCThe only thing I really want to know is how you guys responded to the philosophy of Hogwarts. The JK morality of “the status quo must be maintained even at the expense of minorities” is the thing that really turned me off from it.
LoveTriscuit
2023-12-27 21:49:18 +0000 UTCThat's fine, I just think you should make more of an effort to know your enemy. These guys are staunch advocates for trans rights so I believe you're just wrong on this.
Joylesstiger
2023-12-27 18:52:58 +0000 UTCAgreed
Adam Ganser
2023-12-27 18:48:12 +0000 UTCPerfectly valid take. Sorry to have lost you.
Small Beans
2023-12-27 18:47:02 +0000 UTCAm I mixing my metaphors too drastically?😋
Joylesstiger
2023-12-27 18:44:23 +0000 UTCAs above, this was a personal decision. I don't claim to be a perfect person. Best of luck to you.
Fromage D'amour
2023-12-27 18:34:03 +0000 UTCThat’s a good point. I wish I was friends with more Bugattis too.
Adam Ganser
2023-12-27 18:30:07 +0000 UTCI’ll look into this.
Adam Ganser
2023-12-27 18:29:14 +0000 UTCChants of Sennaar was a great deduction/induction game this year in the style of Obra Dinn. The difference is you're figuring out what words/symbols mean.
Jake Z
2023-12-27 18:25:26 +0000 UTCI have to take issue with the idea that you should just play D+D instead of BG3. Why not just have a group of like minded friends with flexible schedules and an experienced DM to play with at your leisure? It's a high bar to entry. Kinda like saying why play Forza when you could just take your Bugatti to the French alps?
Joylesstiger
2023-12-27 17:44:02 +0000 UTCI think you probably have plenty of ethical blind spots that you're fine with ignoring when it comes to things you're less interested in. Shall I berate you for the conflict minerals that you carry around in your pocket? I think they made more than enough effort to further the discussion about the problems with this specific IP.
Joylesstiger
2023-12-27 17:29:43 +0000 UTCSave-scumming is not necessary in BG3. You just need to get good 🤡 That being said, I would also prefer to be playing DnD with real people. Except that none of my real people want to play DnD, so BG3 is the best I'm going to get 😑
Hazen Roller-Olson
2023-12-27 16:20:44 +0000 UTCI've disagreed with a lot of what you guys have said in the past, but have always been entertained. I generally think you have terrible taste in games, which I only mention because I nonetheless subscribed to your patreon and have supported you for months. When Micheal said this was an off year, for example, I facepalmed. Same thing for your feelings about BG3. But that's fine. We can disagree. But then. I really respected you all for not covering the Wizard game. You have ruined that with this. I have to cancel my subscription. I am sorry, but this is irresponsible. Yes, you didn't talk about it at the time, and that's better than a lot of outlets. And I believe you when you say that you care about trans rights. But this is most decidedly not it. There are a lot of games you have never and will never discuss. It's not irresponsible in any way not to cover them, and it would have been perfectly fine to not play it, even if there wasn't a controversy. I am not trying to bully you. You can obviously feel free to cover whatever you want to on your channel. But I cannot financially support it when you make choices like this. It sounds like people close to you have already made these and probably better arguments, so I don't think I can convince you with this. But I still hope you will reconsider.
Fromage D'amour
2023-12-27 14:39:26 +0000 UTC
