Shall We Play a Game?

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More ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’

Jun 8, 2017

Is the new “Zelda” being graded on a curve? Or is JJ playing it wrong? Can you even play it wrong? Does it matter that there isn’t much of a story? Will Chris ever stop bringing up “Horizon: Zero Dawn”?

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 “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”

SHOW NOTES:

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‘Zelda’ on Switch & the End of ‘Prey’

Jun 1, 2017

At last, we have new Nintendo consoles. Our playthrough of “Breath of the Wild” begins, followed by a spoilercast on the end of Arkane’s “Prey.”

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 “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”

SHOW NOTES:

Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

Chris’s “First Crush” essay on video games in The New York Times

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Even More ‘Prey’

May 24, 2017

We’re almost finished with Arkane’s “Prey.” Before we gripe about an otherwise excellent game, we answer a listener mail about our “first favorite” video games.

This episode is brought to you by Eddy Boswell-Correa, a listener and Patreon supporter.

Join Eddy at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE:

The end of “Prey” and the beginning of the Nintendo Switch

SHOW NOTES:

“How ‘Prey’’s designers turned technical limitations into inspiration,” in Gamasutra

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“The Nintendo Switch of My Dreams,” by Sofija Stefanovic in The New York Times

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More ‘Prey’ & Nintendo Switch

May 18, 2017

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:

Chris’s interview with Sid Meier in Glixel

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‘Prey’

May 11, 2017

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:

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PC Gamer’s immersive-sim podcast roundtable

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‘Prey,’ ‘Night in the Woods’ & More ‘Edith Finch’

May 3, 2017

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:

“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

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‘What Remains of Edith Finch’

Apr 25, 2017

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:

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“Escape to Another World,” by Ryan Avent

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What I Play: Sam Biddle

Apr 18, 2017

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”

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The Economist’s Ryan Avent & More ‘Persona 5’

Apr 13, 2017

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:

Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page