Shall We Play a Game?

We’ve explored Crew Quarters in Arkane’s still-terrific “Prey.” Chris has one quibble, but the spoilers wait until after he talks to Sofija Stefanovic, a Serbian-Australian-New-Yorker writer about her decreasingly quiet longing for a Nintendo Switch. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: Even more “Prey” SHOW NOTES: “The Nintendo Switch of My Dreams,” by Sofija Stefanovic in The New York Times Chris’s interview with Sid Meier in Glixel   Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

Do the first eight hours or so of Arkane’s love letter to the immersive sim live up to the promise of the demo? This episode is brought to you by Troy Gilbert, our very first Patreon patron. 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 “Prey” SHOW NOTES: Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

Did the hourlong demo for “Prey,” Arkane’s highly referential immersive sim, sell us on playing the whole thing? Can JJ stomach the storyline in “Night in the Woods?” Can Chris get a do-over to explain why he adores “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 WEEK, WE HOPE: “Prey” SHOW NOTES: PC Gamer’s immersive-sim podcast roundtable “Video Games Are Better Without Stories” by Ian Bogost in the Atlantic Ben Lindbergh in The Ringer on the “deceptive scariness” of the walking simulator   Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

The second game from Giant Sparrow, and the first from Annapurna Interactive, is a virtuosic take on the walking simulator. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Night in the Woods” SHOW NOTES: Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

The Intercept reporter, and former Gawker writer and Valleywag editor, talks about growing up as a Dreamcast kid, playing Yakuza 0 and Persona 5, and what it was like to be in the middle of a Gamergate skirmish. We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: Still more “Persona 5”

Ryan Avent of The Economist talks about research showing that some people may be dropping out of the workforce to play video games. Plus, JJ and Chris are still playing “Persona 5.” We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: Sam Biddle: What I Play SHOW NOTES: “Escape to Another World,” by Ryan Avent   Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

Two video games, one old and one new, about children who navigate fantastical mental landscapes. Not to mention literal subway systems. Plus, the shortest “What I Play” in history. 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 “Persona 5”   SHOW NOTES: Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

Can a video game do philosophy? Everything in David OReilly’s “Everything” is playable, to try to convey the perspective of, well, everything. Our review. We have a Patreon now at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Psychonauts,” just ’cause SHOW NOTES: Ian Bogost’s review of “Everything” in the Atlantic Quantic Foundry’s gamer motivation profile   Support us on Patreon Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

The truth is…you’re the weak, and I am the tyranny of evil men. But I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be Commander Shepard. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Everything” and more “Mass Effect: Andromeda” SHOW NOTES: Chris’s interview with CD Projekt Red founder Marcin Iwiński, in Glixel

We started Nintendo’s latest masterpiece on the Wii U instead of the Switch, and then rebuilt our finicky VR setups for Epic’s free Oculus Touch shooter. Plus, what game did Chris give up for Lent? NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Mass Effect: Andromeda” SHOW NOTES: Natasha Dow Schüll’s “Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas,” recommended by Janet Murray “How one man lost over 50 pounds playing a VR game,” PC Gamer’s article about Telltale’s Job Stauffer   Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

As always, we bring our listeners the hottest takes on the newest, freshest video games, which is why we just finished “The Witcher 3.” NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Robo Recall” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

It’s Nintendo Switch release day! So of course we give you a smidgen of “Torment: Tides of Numenera,” a smattering of the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards, and a smorgasbord of plans to start a membership drive. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Robo Recall,” and/or The End of “The Witcher 3” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

Chris Plante, the culture editor of The Verge and a founder of Polygon, tells us why he liked “Horizon Zero Dawn.” Like Michael Jordan with the flu, JJ shows up despite his pneumonia.

Our first-ever preview: Chris played four hours of “Horizon Zero Dawn.” Then, “Yakuza 0” and the disappearance of the medium-budget video game. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: “Resident Evil 7” in VR, if Chris can stop playing “Yakuza 0” SHOW NOTES: Holly Green’s tweets about crafting Tevis Thompson on the Clockwork Game Design podcast Wesley Morris on the Bill Simmons Podcast   Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter

To prepare for the February release of “Torment: Tides of Numenera,” we’re playing “Planescape: Torment.” When we’re not playing “Yakuza 0,” that is. NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE: A preview of “Horizon Zero Dawn” SHOW NOTES: Review us on iTunes Like us on Facebook Email us at shallweshow at gmail Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page Follow us on Twitter