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The Besties

Russ Frushtick, Chris Plante, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy

It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?

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33 episodes
weekly
Avg 59 min
English

Episodes 33

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Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#522
Friday · 1 hr 3 min
Nintendo Gets Switch Sports Right on Its Second Try
Only four years after Nintendo Switch Sports (and only two years after that game’s final update), the series returns with an upgrade/sequel: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. The latest entry in the series that began with Wii Sports is unquestionably more polished than its predecessor. But does Resort offer enough new stuff to warrant the price tag? Plus, Griffin dove into Final Fantasy Resonance and has the crystals to prove it!
#521
October 23 · 57 min
Castlevania, Ace Combat, and Ron Funches. What More Can You Want?
Ron Funches joins us for a double header! First, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is the first new side-scrolling Castlevania in over a decade. Is it worth the wait? And second: Ace Combat 8 is the most decadent entry in the long-running series. But is this an entry point for newcomers, or has the series locked on to hardcore plane nerds? Plus, the boys saw some documentaries!
#520
October 16 · 56 min
Echo Weaver Is Like Outer Wilds in 2D
Even though we were traveling for the live show, we still made time to play new games! Echo Weaver is a Metroidvania in the style of Outer Wilds, but simplified from 3D to 2D. It’s a little rough around the edges, though not enough to tarnish its big ideas. Plus, Griffin joins Plante on the Dragon’s Dogma train with the updated Dragon Dogma’s 2: Dark Arisen. But have some of those changes led Plante to reconsider his fandom? So many mysteries! To get the answers, I suppose you’ll just have to li
#519
October 9 · 54 min
The Star Wars Game Renaissance Is Here!
Sure, we expected Star Wars: Galactic Racer to be good off the pitch alone. A new studio, featuring members of the Burnout team, is creating a spiritual sequel to the Nintendo 64 podracing game? Yes, please! We didn’t, however, predict the game’s creator would splice a clever story and an inspired roguelike structure into the racing genre. Our GOTY conversation just got a bit more complicated. Plus, we discuss how Galactic Racer is one part of a larger trend of delightful Star Wars games that ha
#518
October 2 · 59 min
Control Resonant Rewards Your Patience
Control Resonant is technically a sequel to 2019’s Control. But developer Remedy has (as they often do) opted to stretch the definition of sequel as far as possible, converting the third-person shooter series into an open-world action game. Shockingly, it works… once you get your sea-legs. Plus, we talk about how the release of Gears of War: E-DAY falls in the shadow of the brutal layoffs and changes at Xbox.
#517
September 25 · 59 min
With Fire Emblem, Is It Finally Time to Buy a Switch 2?
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is the biggest exclusive for the Nintendo Switch 2 — quite literally. A completionist run of the new tactics RPG could take you 200 hours. For some fans, the epic length will be a decadent pleasure. For others, like Plante, it’s a threat. To guide us through the huge adventure, longtime Fire Emblem-lovers Griffin and Frush share what works and doesn’t. Meanwhile, Plante wonders if the current list of exclusives has made the Switch 2 a worthwhile upgrade.
#516
September 18 · 57 min
Wolverine Is a Disaster
Most of the time, we chat about games we enjoy. So many games debut every week, and picking promising new ones is relatively easy. But every so often, a game with high expectations ends up being a colossal disappointment. Wolverine, we’re sad to say, is one of those games. And yet, we’re making lemonade from lemons. Because all of Wolverine’s flaws make for a good conversation about what we expect (and hope for) from video games. Especially ones that cost so much. Speaking of expensive stuff: Fr
#515
September 11 · 57 min
Onimusha: Or, Capcom Refuses to Make Bad Games
The last time Capcom made a new Onimusha game, George W. Bush was President. But Onimusha: The Way of the Sword would have you believe the series never missed a beat. This week, Ron Funches joins the guys to talk about the ways this new entry blends Devil May Cry and Dark Souls tropes into something fresh and surprisingly welcoming!
#514
September 4 · 1 hr
The Witcher, But With Vampires? Yes, Please!
The Blood of Dawnwalker proves the old adage, “The worse the name, the better the game.” The debut from Rebel Wolves, a studio composed in part of CD Projekt Red veterans, is a grim fantasy RPG set in the Carpathian mountains in the thick of the Black Plague. It looks and feel at first like the The Witcher series, though give it a few hours, and you’ll see this isn’t reheated leftover. It’s got vampires and time management and bears too powerful to be bitten by a bloodsucker! To talk about this
#513
August 28 · 57 min
Blood Dungeon Takes Us to Bullet Heaven
Blood Dungeon is a spectacular evolution of the Vampire Survivors formula. Developer Messhof plops the auto-shooting, upgrade-building bullet-heaven genre into something a bit more strategic and conscious of your time. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the art looks, at first blush, like Spelunky by way of a child’s sketchbook. In the back half of the episode, we chat about what to call these games, and then pick some of our favorites.
#512
August 21 · 57 min
Stardew Valley vs. Fields of Mistria? Everybody Wins
Fields of Mistria has finally hit 1.0 after a couple of years in Early Access on Steam. Does the “official” release rise to the level of Stardew Valley? Or is this anime-inspired small town simulator doing something different? And is 1.0 just a new beginning? We discuss all of that and the hot new handheld!
#511
August 14 · 1 hr 2 min
A Spoiler-Free Big Walk Bonanza
Big Walk is the game everyone wanted during the pandemic. Not-so-coincidentally, that’s when the project began development. The multiplayer open-world adventure is developer House House’s follow-up to Untitled Goose Game. But where Goose Game hinged on you pestering NPCs to solve puzzles, Big Walk tasks you with pestering and supporting your friends. Or to put it succinctly: Big Walk is a game about communication. Though, as we explain, it’s an experience that requires some careful scheduling.
#510
August 7 · 57 min
The Pokémon Studio Tries Something New
Beast of Reincarnation is the new game from Game Freak, the studio that creates every mainline Pokémon game. But friends, this is nothing like Pokémon. The action-RPG calls to mind series like Dark Souls and Onimusha. Is it… good? Guest Ron Funches joins to help us find out.
#509
July 31 · 54 min
Splatoon Raiders Might be the Most Fun Switch 2 Game Yet
The guys are back again to talk about the magic and wonder of Splatoon Raiders, a game that finally made us all agree that Splatoon is really kinda awesome. We've also got some reader mail to dive into and whether we can actually find someone who inverts their horizontal axis.
#508
July 24 · 59 min
The Halo Remake Is a Metaphor for the Xbox Mess
In the back half of this week’s episode, we chat about Halo: Campaign Evolved, a video game that has the misfortune of representing everything infuriating about the modern Xbox strategy. Fortunately, other games exist. To soothe the soul, we start with an inspired murder mystery, a surprisingly deep Spelunky-like, and the 1.0 of Palworld.
#507
July 17 · 49 min
Assassin's Creed vs. a Train That Does Backflips
This week’s games represent two ends of the video game spectrum. On one side, we have Denshattack, an indie game about a train that performs skateboard-style tricks in a fantastical version of Japan. On the other end, we have Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, a decadent remake of a beloved but dusty Ubisoft open-world game. Guest Jeff Grubb from Giant Bomb helps us chat about these two very different delights!
#506
July 10 · 56 min
Nintendo Is Playing the B-Sides
Rhythm Heaven returns after an eleven-year hiatus with Rhythm Heaven Groove. It’s a fun game, but something’s changed. The series? The boys? Nintendo? We find the answer. Plus, Frushtick talks about life with the Steam Machine. It’s neat! It’s expensive! And it’s a reflection of the moment!
#505
July 3 · 52 min
Sony Kills Discs, Nintendo Revives Star Fox
Griffin needed to take this week off, but our guest was more than prepared to talk about the week’s huge gaming news. Stephen Totilo, the founder of Game File and former EIC of Kotaku, explains the cause and fallout of Sony’s decision to cease physical game production in 2028. In more joyful news, Nintendo remade Starfox for the second time! And Frushtick and Plante have impressions to share!
#504
June 26 · 58 min
2026's Best Games (and What's Still to Come)
Midway through the year, The Besties share their top contenders. However, don’t make any bets on these being our final picks for our GOTY list, because the back half of 2026 is unprecedentedly dense with new releases. To set the stage, we curate our most anticipated games. Also, The Grinch 2.
#503
June 19 · 1 hr
Uh Oh! We're Drowning in Games Again
This week, we throw our own summer festival of video games by opening the grab bag! There was so much stuff to play, it took all three Besties working on different piles to separate the “Yes!” from the “Yuck!” Want a meta Sherlock Holmes mystery? How about overlooked DLC to a Besties favorite? Or maybe you want to hear about Steam running on Android emulators? Friends, we have something for everyone!

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