Shall We Play a Game?

You’ve got 11 days left to go see Alejandro González Iñárritu’s virtual-reality installation “Carne y Arena.” We saw it/did it/played it, and tell you why you should, too (if you’re anywhere near Washington, D.C.).  PS: It feels great to be back! We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

JJ talks about why he liked “Syndicate” more than “Origins,” while Chris begs for Discovery Modes to be retrofitted into every game in the series. Plus a dash of “God of War” (2018) and “Pillars of Eternity II.” We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: “God of War” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Our instant review of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” the first “Star Wars” movie to reference “Masters of Teras Kasi,” preceded by a paean to the “God of War” camera. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: “God of War” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Our review of Steven Spielberg’s movie *and* Ernest Cline’s book answers the question you’ve been waiting for: What if Halliday had been into walking simulators? We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: “Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Unknowingly, we have undertaken a journey to become America’s hottest Annapurna Interactive podcast. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: “Ready Player One” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Better late than never: We asked 25 of the smartest people we know–game developers, critics, professors of theater and history, comedy writers, political journalists, podcasters–for their favorite video game of 2017, and got 20 answers. Counting Chris and JJ, that’s 27 people and 20 video games (21 if you count an honorable mention). STARRING, in order of appearance: Harvey Smith, creative director of Dishonored and Dishonored 2; Zach Gage, designer of Really Bad Chess, Typeshift, and SpellTower; Simon Parkin, author of Death by Video Game and contributor to the New Yorker; Brett Douville, lead programmer of Skyrim; Michael Abbott, theater professor at Wabash College; Caroline Petit, Feminist Frequency writer; Chris Remo, Idle Thumbs host and Campo Santo composer and designer; Daniel Radosh, writer for The Daily Show; Benjy Sarlin, political reporter for NBC News; Patrick Klepek, senior reporter for Vice’s Waypoint; Nina Freeman, level designer for Tacoma; Nick Suttner, author of Boss Fight Books’ Shadow of the Colossus; John Davison, founding editor of Rolling Stone’s Glixel; Bob Whitaker, Louisiana Tech historian and host of History Respawned; Evan Narcisse, io9 reporter and writer of Rise of the Black Panther; Steve Gaynor, writer and designer of Gone Home and Tacoma; Tom Bissell, author of Extra Lives and Apostle and writer on Gears of War 4 and Uncharted 4; Winnie Song, designer at Square Enix Montreal; Chris Plante, executive editor of Polygon; Mike Drucker, comedian and former writer for The Tonight Show; Theresa Duringer, founder of Temple Gates Games; Stephen Totilo, editor-in-chief of Kotaku; Peter Molyneux, creator of Populous, Black and White, and Fable; Jon Lovett, host of Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It; Ian Dallas, creative director of What Remains of Edith Finch We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: “Florence” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

The second game from Annapurna Interactive is a meditative puzzle by Jason Roberts. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Butterfly Soup” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter And on Instagram Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

The annual “Shall we watch a ‘Star Wars’ movie?” episode of the “Shall We Play a Game?” podcast. WARNING: Do not listen to more than a minute or so if you haven’t seen “The Last Jedi.” We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Gorogoa” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

A new Game of the Year contender. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. THIS WEEK, WE HOPE: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Gorogoa” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Mike Bithell’s short interactive robot detective fiction–how’s that for a five-word phrase–is good. Plus, JJ reveals the most embarrassing/proud public place he has played his Nintendo Switch. And Chris talks about minivan radio interfaces. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Universal Paperclips” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Alright, Der Fuhrer, it’s time for my closeup. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Subsurface Circular” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

We’re about three hours in, up to the part when BJ arrives in Manhattan. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: More “Wolfenstein 2,” some “Star Wars Battlefront 2” SHOW NOTES: Chris’s New York Times review of “Wolfenstein: The New Order” Chris’s “Zombies are the new Nazis” review of “The Walking Dead”   Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Mario rose and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, girded his sword about his shoulder, and left his room looking like an immortal god. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Wolfenstein 2” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of World 1-1. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: More “Super Mario Odyssey” SHOW NOTES: Chris’s review of “Super Mario Odyssey” in Slate   Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

We’re busy with “Super Mario Odyssey” this week–which we’ll talk about on next week’s show–so we’re sharing this Patreon members-only mailbag with the wider listening public. Try it! It’s good! We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Super Mario Odyssey” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page