824. 1Upsmanship: Games We Release Each Other From Playing (The Uncoverables)
Added 2025-01-31 14:00:16 +0000 UTC
If you’ve been listening to this podcast at all, you should know Adam and Michael are just two very different gamers. There’s a whole mess of games that each of them hold dearly, but just aren’t the others’ bag. So this episode serves as a space where each host releases the other from playing their weird shit or games they’ve grown to realize just isn’t for either of them.
Michael Swaim: https://bsky.app/profile/michaelswaim.bsky.social
Adam Ganser: https://bsky.app/profile/ganz.bsky.social
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Comments
Mike keeps crediting Warcraft 3 with inventing tower defense, but I remember playing Sunken Defense on StarCraft before WC3 even came out. And it could've even been on other games before that.
JB
2025-04-04 21:07:38 +0000 UTCDefinitely should be played with the add ons both 1&2 are much better when they’re included. But then I guess that’s a discussion point in itself, as you wouldn’t do this with a single player campaign game. It feels more acceptable with something like this because it fine tunes the standard campaign rather than adding onto the endgame. Also you have to name all of your characters friend and family names.
Michael
2025-02-09 11:21:56 +0000 UTCWhen Michael mentions point and clicks I never hear him mention my two all time favourites. Beneath a Steel Sky and Indiana Jone and The Fate of Atlantis. FOA was the first game I remember having branching storylines, I loved the adventure as a child.
Michael
2025-02-09 11:18:44 +0000 UTCOh I was clearly joking / trolling. It’s never going to happen and that’s 100% ok with me, great game for some, Ganz would hate
Alexander Ault
2025-02-05 02:23:16 +0000 UTCIt’s on the list
Adam Ganser
2025-02-05 01:47:26 +0000 UTCthe people need the Baldurs Gate 3 episode fr
Frasier Crane
2025-02-05 00:14:35 +0000 UTCimma double up with this guy and say y'all should cover X-com - maybe the 2011 reimagining first bc it's dripping with atmosphere and is excellent
Frasier Crane
2025-02-05 00:13:20 +0000 UTCI wish you would cover x-com
Robert Sealand
2025-02-04 01:02:38 +0000 UTCI still feel like the Monkey Island series is worth people's time. Especially the remake with voice cast of the first one.
Adam by the Birch
2025-02-03 16:20:50 +0000 UTCWhoop! Sunless Skies mentioned! (I know it’s never gonna be popular, but I love its world and writing and art and even gameplay so much.)
Steven R Walsh
2025-02-03 15:21:17 +0000 UTC“broken age” is such a fun story and game i can’t figure out how to recommend to people without just saying, “you gotta play it.”
soapshoe yoinkman
2025-02-03 03:43:47 +0000 UTCSo glad you mentioned NBAJam as a possible entry. I've always considered that the "sports game for people who don't like sports". A classic of the arcade era where you could keep all your personal stats on blast. Plus the hidden TRON tank game was next level.
John Mcclurg
2025-02-02 22:35:07 +0000 UTCwhen is mass effect 3?
kkmasters
2025-02-02 20:14:54 +0000 UTCI know. I know. 😭
Adam Ganser
2025-02-02 15:24:51 +0000 UTCI understand the reasoning for Halo 3, but it is absolutely the peak of that franchise
Vindalf
2025-02-02 13:31:20 +0000 UTCFallout 2 inspired me to build a fallout themed Firefox skin back when that was all the rage. Honestly that’s what got me into coding, and now I’m an unemployed software engineer. Thanks, Black Isle!
James Crosslin
2025-02-01 18:02:27 +0000 UTCLove this concept. Love Grim Fandango but fully agree with the points. Does make me want an animated series of it though?
red sands
2025-02-01 13:55:38 +0000 UTCIf you guys want an MMORPG to cover forget WoW, go straight to Oldschool Runescape, haha. Much more fun in my opinion.
Philip Reinhardt
2025-02-01 01:56:08 +0000 UTCThank you Mike for bringing up Weaveworld! I haven’t read that in ages. I’m going to have to dig out that and Imajica for a reread now.
Maddy
2025-01-31 23:43:18 +0000 UTCBlasted html! Thanks for letting us know!
Small Beans
2025-01-31 21:45:55 +0000 UTCI recently got into fortnite after watching Taffeta Darling's twitch stream where apparently they added like a guitar hero gameplay. I had some fun playing as john wick doing guitar for Dragula. And apparently they also have a lego component but I've never gotten into that. But in any case,for me it's just a mindless dumb fun toy where you can have Mr. Incredible with an AK mow down people. But I'm not into PvP so i just play private lobbies and what makes it interesting to me are the custom levels people have made for people to play. Like I recently bought the Raphael skin so I'd have a reason to play two of the custom ninja turtle levels someone made. I recognize the game is just a shiny dumb toy but it's nice for when I want to listen to a podcast and also just wander around somewhere colorful mowing down zombies as Blade or Ellen Ripley. So yeah games like that where y'all just have 0 interest in it I feel is fine to not cover cause the discussion would not be as interesting an episode as like Fallout: New Vegas or MGS V.
Oliver Allen
2025-01-31 21:38:21 +0000 UTCMike, since you mentioned Call of the Sea and Fallout 2 I have a few recommendations you might like: -The Black Book: Deck builder, you play a 19th century Russian peasant girl whose adoptive grandfather is teaching her to control chorts (demons) -Encased: Isometric sci-fi RPG. People have chosen to be exiled inside an alien anomaly, each for their own reasons, knowing there is no exit. -Dredge: Play as a fishing boat captain in a strange archipelago. Something is corrupting life in the depths of the ocean...and the depths of you -Excavation of Hob's Barrow: Point-and-click horror. Play as a Victorian-era antiquary unraveling a supernatural mystery in a spooky little village on the moors -Carrion: Anti-platformer where you play as an escaped lab experiment seeking out organic matter to absorb and grow new organs and appendages, the organic matter being mostly researchers and security guards because you are a terrifying monster
Scottie Wottie
2025-01-31 20:55:43 +0000 UTCThis is exactly the kind of integrity i come here for. I often end up being a negative commenter, but I fucking loved everything about this. I always end up losing interest when either of you stray from your principles in order to reach some sort of objective consensus, because it always ends up feeling arbitrary to me. So this was perfect. Be who you are, and review games within that arena, that's what I come here for. Also, I've played Sunless Sea for 179 hours and Sunless Skies for 142 hours and I completely agree with Mike: they're amazing games that I love, but I also agree that they're objectively speaking pretty bad and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I also love both Torment games though, and I love hearing representation of that style of game on here - I don't need you to review it, but I'm real happy to know Mike loved it, because I've always assumed that he would.
Tue HL
2025-01-31 20:51:29 +0000 UTCAs someone who spends a lot of time playing League of Legends with his friends. DO NOT PLAY OR TEY TO COVER IT. It is obtuse to beginners, filled with toxicity, and it takes a long time to get anything genuine out of. Good news is if you cover Warcraft 3, that’s also where DOTA the spiritual parent of League, came from as well.
LoveTriscuit
2025-01-31 20:01:37 +0000 UTCAs much as I would love an X-wing or Tie Fighter conversation, i always thought the best part was playing X-wing and Tie Fighter solo, and then going to a Lan party and playing X-wing vs Tie Fighter, and I don't believe that can be captured in this format.
Taylor Hensley
2025-01-31 18:23:37 +0000 UTCI genuinely gasped when Michael said Fallout 2. Man I love that game. Worf as a Super Mutant!
drunkencoyote
2025-01-31 18:02:39 +0000 UTCThere is a fantastic game that seems to be flying under the radar right now, Return to Moria is a really fun survival/crafting/adventure. I would say absolute must have if you're any kind of Tolkien enthusiast. Not too grindy, lots of obscure lore nods, and fun usage of songs. I wish they could have licensed the movie score, but I overlaid it with my computer and it's so good!!
Joylesstiger
2025-01-31 16:42:42 +0000 UTCI have mixed feelings about gears of war. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but it felt important at the time. Definitely the smoothest cover based shooter of its age; maybe it's just the testosterone fueled meathead main characters that are so off putting.
Joylesstiger
2025-01-31 16:33:10 +0000 UTCThis episode was a really great idea. Playing into your psuedo odd couple vibe of game tastes of course certain ones just have almost no chance to reach the hard drive and this also absolves some of the "importance" of some of these games. Halo 3 really stood out to me this episode as such a great emotional tribute where you recognized "I love this game, I want it to feel appreciated, it meant something to me even if it never really pierced the zeitgheist" so to speak. It's these moments that make this easily a favorite podcast mine. Joke Complete!
Jason Laske
2025-01-31 15:17:02 +0000 UTCYeah but what about Baldur’s Gate 3 Bro?
Alexander Ault
2025-01-31 15:01:53 +0000 UTCNeed to fix the links...your bsky.app links load X
James Hamilton
2025-01-31 14:29:10 +0000 UTCThere Is No Game is a great point and click game with puzzles that have a consistent and clever logic that you can actually solve
David Astika
2025-01-31 14:18:18 +0000 UTC
