My Favourite Game - My Favourite Game (of 2016)

My Favourite Game (of 2016)

Explicit content warning

12/28/16 • 102 min

My Favourite Game

So here we are, then, at the end of what has been a horrible year. And its been incredibly horrible, to give the understatement of the century. 2016 is a year where we’ve lost actual heroes (I’m writing this a day after Carrie Fisher passed away) and where the world is in an iron grip of fear, anger, hate and more.

The only thing 2016 has excelled at, however, is gaming and the varied output we’ve gotten this year as a result. Gaming can provide an amazing outlet of escapism, an outlet that is needed now more than ever.

For our second and final Christmas 2016 special, My Favourite Game takes a look back at some of the best games of the year through the eyes of guests across Seasons 1-4 of the show. And here’s a twist for you: we have a contribution from a guest who’s part of Season 5 as well.

And as well as all those, I had to make a epilogue on 2016 as a whole and how, tying back to what I said above, gaming as an escapism outlet is needed more than ever.

With that, here’s your games and guest lineup for My Favourite Game (of 2016).

Titanfall 2

Andrew Smith (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Episode Two, Season 2)
Dan Pearce (Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil – Episode Two, Season 3)

Oxenfree

Kaitlin Tremblay (Shining Force – Episode Four, Season 2)

Dishonored 2

Tom Francis (Deus Ex – Episode Seven, Season 3)
Ed Stern (Half-Life – Episode Seven, Season 2)
Chris Avellone (Wasteland – Episode One, Season 4)

Budget Cuts

Christian Donlan (Robotron 2084 – Episode Nine, Season 2)

Inside

Catherine Woolley (Shenmue – Episodes Ten & Eleven, Season 4)
Matthew Reynolds (Shenmue – Episode Five, Season 2)

Dark Souls 3

Tom Bramwell (Quake – Episode Ten, Season 1)

Hitman

Dan Teasdale (World Games – Episode Five, Season 4)
Alex Donaldson (Final Fantasy 9 – Episode Seven, Season 1)

Darkest Dungeon

Jordan Thomas (Fantasy Grounds – Episode Nine, Season 4)

The Last Guardian

Johnny Cullen (Host/Creative Producer, My Favourite Game and Editor-in-Chief, Play Diaries)
Steve Gaynor (Resident Evil 4– Episode 1, The Lost Tapes)

And as well as all those, I had to make a epilogue on 2016 as a whole and how, tying back to what I said above, gaming as an escapism outlet is needed more than ever.

With that, here’s your games and guest lineup for My Favourite Game (of 2016).

Titanfall 2

Andrew Smith (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Episode Two, Season 2)
Dan Pearce (Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil – Episode Two, Season 3)

Oxenfree

Kaitlin Tremblay (Shining Force – Episode Four, Season 2)

Dishonored 2

Tom Francis (Deus Ex – Episode Seven, Season 3)
Ed Stern (Half-Life – Episode Seven, Season 2)
Chris Avellone (Wasteland – Episode One, Season 4)

Budget Cuts

Christian Donlan (Robotron 2084 – Episode Nine, Season 2)

Inside

Catherine Woolley (Shenmue – Episodes Ten & Eleven, Season 4)
Matthew Reynolds (Shenmue – Episode Five, Season 2)

Dark Souls 3

Tom Bramwell (Quake – Episode Ten, Season 1)

Hitman

Dan Teasdale (World Games – Episode Five, Season 4)
Alex Donaldson (Final Fantasy 9 – Episode Seven, Season 1)

Darkest Dungeon

Jordan Thomas (Fantasy Grounds – Episode Nine, Season 4)

The Last Guardian

Johnny Cullen (Host/Creative Producer, My Favourite Game and Editor-in-Chief, Play Diaries)
Steve Gaynor (Resident Evil 4– Episode 1, The Lost Tapes)

Previous Episode

The Last of Us, by Johnny Cullen

Hello.

It’s been a bit too long since we put together an episode of My Favourite Game. Right now, plans are currently in motion for Season 5 – we already have one episode down – but considering when Season 5 is currently planned to launch (sorry, you’re not finding that out today besides ‘early 2017’), I wanted to give you one or two episodes for the end of the year to help tide you over considering the long gap of silence between the end of Season 4 and when Season 5 will start.

Next week, we’re bringing back what was meant to be a one-off special last year. But considering the amount of fun had in putting that together, we’re now going to make it a regular thing. So next week, My Favourite Game (of 2016) will be a thing. You can listen to that all over the shop next coming Wednesday, December 28 from 9pm GMT/4pm US EST/1pm US PST.

But before that, I’ve put together a normal, bog standard episode of the show to help give you your fix of the show.

Who’s the guest? Umm... me. I figured I may as well get it out of the way now and especially have it done in a time where it’s not done in any season, so my episode is now out there for all to listen to as I talk at length about The Last of Us as my favourite game.

“But Johnny,” you are not crying at the screen but for the sake of this, I’m just going to pretend you are anyways, “you can’t possibly present your own episode, so who’s going to sit in the chair for you anyways?”

Dear listener, that is a very good question. I’ve enlisted the services of Season 4 finale guest Catherine Woolley of Media Molecule (she was with Creative Assembly when her two-parter was recorded) to be in my proverbial presenting chair as I talk of Naughty Dog’s magnum opus! Not only is she one of the most enthusiastic and more detailed people to come on the show, but she also has previous-podcast experience, so I figure having her in the chair will be a good thing.

Come listen to us talk of TLOU – including why Winter is the best bit in the game, why you shouldn’t exactly take Naughty Dog at face value in regards to stuff they say sometimes, why it has some of the best queer representation in a game ever and talk of Left Behind as one of the best DLCs of all time, but not Gustavo Santoialla’s amazing soundtrack (because I genuinely forgot, proper oops) – as well as the recently-announced Last of Us: Part 2 and a ton more over the course of two hours.

Next Episode

My Favourite Game (of 2017)

It’s happening. We’re actually back.

Yes, My Favourite Game is well and truly back after a year away. It’s one episode, but we can’t just let this year go without paying tribute to what has been an incredible year in gaming and easily one of the greatest years in gaming ever, if not the greatest (I reckon it is).

Season 5 will drop staring Early 2018 and we’re stoked for you to listen to it. But in the meantime, My Favourite Game (of 2017) will help announce some of its lineup. You’ll hear from four guests for the upcoming season alongside twelve previous guests across Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4. And me natch (in fairness, you get me out of the way early on this year rather than waiting for the end of the show!).

As for the year in gaming overall, what a year its been. Never ever has there been a more appropriate time to celebrate gaming as a medium and form of entertainment (and fuck it, as an art form as well), especially in another shittastic year where the world has gone more to hell than it did at this time last year. In a year full of broad and diverse games from AAA, AA and indies alike, there is something for everyone to play.

In our annual special look back on the year, seventeen guests over five seasons worth of episodes talk of their favourite games of the year, some of which have managed to place within their GOAT lists, through eleven games.

With all that being said, here presents the game and guest lineup for this special – as well as part of the Season 5 lineup of My Favourite Game – in what is the longest episode of My Favourite Game ever. So sit back, relax and enjoy My Favourite Game (of 2017).

Nier Automata

Johnny Cullen (Host/Creative Producer, My Favourite Game and Editor, Play Diaries)
Dan Seto (Final Fantasy 7 – Episode Eight, Season 3)
Ed Fear (Xenogears– Episode 2, The Lost Tapes)

Assassin’s Creed: Origins

Mike Bithell (Metal Gear Solid – Episode Ten, Season 2)

What Remains of Edith Finch

Christian Donlan (Robotron 2084 – Episode Nine, Season 2)
Catherine Woolley (Shenmue – Episodes Ten and Eleven, Season 4)

Divinity: Original Sin 2

Jordan Thomas (Fantasy Grounds – Episode Nine, Season 4)
Alex Hutchinson (????? – Episode ?, The Lost Tapes)

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

Carli Velocci (Silent Hill 2 – Episode Six, Season 3)

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Nels Anderson (????? – Episode ?, ???)

Sonic Mania

Alex Donaldson (Final Fantasy 9 – Episode Seven, Season 1)

Super Mario Odyssey

Dave Cook (Streets of Rage 2 – Episode Five, Season 1)

Packing Up

Steve Gaynor (Resident Evil 4 – Episode One, The Lost Tapes)

Butterfly Soup
Steve Gaynor (Resident Evil 4 – Episode One, The Lost Tapes)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Tom Bramwell (Quake – Episode Ten, Season 1)
Andrew Smith (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Episode Two, Season 2)
Matthew Reynolds (Shenmue – Episode Five, Season 2)
Dan Teasdale (World Games – Episode Five, Season 4)

And word of warning: you’ll want to turn your audio down massively at around 2:52:10. Lest you go deaf at someone’s Zone of the Enders fanboying (sorrynotsorry).