Triple Click
Hosted by Jason Schreier and Kirk Hamilton
Kirk, Maddy, and Jason go back through 2025's predictions to see who won the annual bet, then make some new predictions for the year to come!
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Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
The future remains uncertain, but one of us always manages to predict it a little better than the other two. Whom shall it be? Welcome to Triple Click, where we bring the games to you. This week, we go over our video game industry predictions from 2025 and see which of us got the most correct from their list. Of course, we make predictions for the year to come. Is this the year that Waluigi goes to Hollywood?
I'm Maddy Myers.
I'm Jason Schreier.
And I'm Kirk Hamilton, and Happy New Year, friends.
Happy New Year.
Here we are.
Good to be back.
Pow, pow, fireworks going off in the background of this recording. They're not literally. That would be tough.
Guys, last week, I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic in Punta Cana, which is gorgeous. And my kids had a blast. We were at a resort. It was a lot of fun. Went swimming at the pool, hung out at the beach. And then on Saturday, the US invades Venezuela. And someone on one of my group chats, I didn't even think about this, someone on my group chat is like, hey, Jason, you know, they canceled all the flights from the Caribbean. And I'm like, oh, my God. And then I look into it. Turns out somehow, we were supposed to fly the next day. And somehow, we lucked out because Dominican Republic was not included in the cancellations. Every other Caribbean island, pretty much, was canceled flights
on Saturday. We were supposed to leave Sunday, anyway. But yeah, we could have been screwed, or at least majorly delayed. Or we could have had the benefit of having a whole new, like, another, an added week on our vacation, which
Yeah.
has its pros and cons.
So I'm actually in a group chat with Marco Rubio, so I asked him if he could. I was like, we really need Jason to be back next week.
And your Signal chat, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We explained about the predictions, and of course, he's a huge fan. So we already knew. And he was like, we gotta get Jason back in time for that predictions episode.
It's mostly a thread to talk about video games, but sometimes, you know, we talk about national security.
What is Marco Rubio into? What does he play?
A Helldivers. Does that surprise you at all?
[laughing]
Huge fan.
But he likes it, like, unironically.
He likes it. Yeah, he thinks it's completely serious, which of course it is.
He thinks we live on Super Earth, honestly.
We do now, I think. Slowly but surely. We do. It's becoming Super Earth. Yeah. And if you love living on Super Earth along with the rest of us, then you love Triple Click. And that means that perhaps you might want to get just a little bit more Triple Click in your life than you ordinarily receive. And in order to do that, you would have to go to maximumfun.org/join in order to become a member and get our monthly bonus episodes. Our most recent one was our one more other things of the year. We did our games of the year episode concurrent with this one. And we talked in the bonus app about albums, newsletters. I'm trying to remember the other ones.
Podcasts. Podcasts, movies and books. That's right. And TV shows. TV shows. Yeah. So we did, we did a whole roundup of our one more things of the year. All the stuff. All the stuff. And we got another bonus up coming down the pike, which we can say now, which is that we all watched the first season of a show called Pluribus. And we all done it. And we're gonna, we're gonna do a Beans Cast about that for this month coming up. So definitely check that out. There's a whole host of bonus episodes in there. So maximumfun.org/join is where you gotta go to get those bonus apps and also support the show. I mean, that
warm fuzzy feeling, that doesn't go away. Bonus apps are no, it's all worth it. Okay. Jason, what are we doing today? I mean, we already teased it. Everybody knows.
It is time. It's the annual predictions episode. Everybody's highlight of the year. This week, we are going to go through our 2025 predictions and see who won our bet and make some new predictions for 2026. So just as a refresher for everybody out in there, every single year, each of us makes 10 predictions plus a bonus for the year to come. And then we all pick a game. Each of us picks a game and whoever wins the prediction bet, that game is selected for us all to play throughout the year. So whichever of us wins today's bet of 2025, we will play that game in the months to come. And the losers, don't, we don't play that game. They get punished by not getting.
They don't actually get to play any games that year. That's right. We only play what the winner wants us to play for the entire year. We just don't make that obvious.
Exactly. So we did, uh, we did some tiebreakers earlier and we'll get into those if we need to. Um, but for now, let's review the 2025 predictions and
Yeah, let's go.
See how many points we each got. So, okay, we're gonna go in, uh, this order, Maddy, Jason, Kirk. So Maddy, why don't you start and read each of your predictions and then we'll figure out which ones you got right?
Sure thing. So.
Oh wait, actually start with the game.
Oh yeah, sure. Why not? I, my game was super Metroid. So if I win my predictions, we're going to play a frankly amazing video game. So.
No complaints there.
We're all pulling for it, right? I mean, we did get to play my game last year and it was pretty good. So.
It's true. You have a good track record.
Good taste. Um, okay. 2025 predictions. The first one was a Deadpool video game will get announced. Not only announced, but it came out, folks. There was a Deadpool VR game. I would say I won this one.
You sure did.
Got a point. Number two, the Guillermo family will get pushed out of controlling Ubisoft. No, did not happen.
The opposite happened. They like maneuvered it so they didn't get pushed out by doing this like spinoff subsidiary with Tencent and retaining.
I mean, this was a very unlikely prediction even at the time. I, so I like doing that sometimes. You never know. You never know. Okay. Number three, Metroid Prime two and three will get remasters released on the Switch in 2025. Also didn't happen. Not even gonna reprise this one. I've given up on this. I, it's, I don't know. Number four, a full-length film will be screened in Fortnite. Also didn't happen.
Okay, I'm taking your word on this one.
I know, right? I, it didn't happen. Uh, number five, a game made on Roblox will become a huge hit slash phenomenon on the scale of Pokemon Go or Among Us. So I would not say I won this, but I just wanted to give a shout out to Grow a Garden.
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Maddy, you 100% won this.
All right.
Seal, Seal a Brain Rot is like the biggest thing on every single playground everywhere.
So this is, this is depending on how we classify hit slash phenomenon, right? So like Pokemon Go and Among Us, they were talked about in the news, whereas games like Grow a Garden and now it's Seal a Brain Rot. Grow a Garden had headlines that described it as like the biggest game you've never heard of. So I was like, I don't know if we're gonna count this because even though it's a huge game, would we say it's a social phenomenon?
Grow a Garden had multiple New York Times articles about it. I disagree strongly.
I will happily take the point, Jason.
Maddy, I think both of those would count. Just each of them on their own would count. The fact that there were two of them, Seal a Brain Rot and Grow a Garden. I mean, Grow a Garden had
22 million concurrent players in July 2025.
What was it? 20 million, you said?
22 million.
22 million. Yeah, that's like half of the entirety of Steam.
I mean, I took my, I took out my stats here, people. I was willing to argue.
I guess that counts as a phenomenon.
I think this is like unquestionably a point for you.
I don't know. It seems like Jason just really wants to play Super Metroid, but I'm not mad at that. I, I would do too. Okay.
No, I just think that we, the games press and people our age, millennials, tend to underestimate the power of romance.
I think that that's true and I, I am convinced by that argument. I think that's right.
Great. So I've got two points so far. Number six, Microsoft slash Xbox will remove the requirement for new Xbox games to be able to also run on Xbox Series S. This has yet to occur. Number seven, Half-Life 3 will be announced. And as we all know, this happened, right? Just kidding, it didn't happen. Number eight, Silk Song will get a release date announcement that will be, quote, "It's out right now." This came so close to happening. I, I'm not giving myself the point, but like, damn, if I had just given myself like within the month, I would have gotten a third point here. But no, I had to make it hard for myself. It got announced with a two-week release window.
Number nine, there will be two more prominent live service game failures in 2025 in the style of Concord and Suicide Squad. Very glad this did not happen.
Yeah, I'm kind of surprised.
I know, but genuinely, this is like, you know, you do a bad prediction and you're like, we're rewarded by the fact that this did not come true.
Well, I guess what what is prominent because there were some live service game failures.
There were, but I would not describe any of them as this level. I mean, well, Marathon is eventually going to come out and we'll see what happens with that game, but that is not, that would be an example of something I'm concerned about. Number 10, Waluigi will figure into a new Mario game. This hasn't happened either, but there's still hope. There's always hope. My bonus prediction was Half-Life 4 will be announced. And as we all know, this also happened.
Yeah, it's crazy. It's coming out this year.
This was such a good bonus prediction. I really nailed this one. Anyway, so it looks like I got two points.
Not too shabby.
Yeah, not too shabby. Okay, cool. All right. I will go next. Go through my 2025 predictions. And my game was Chrono Trigger. So if I win, we play Chrono Trigger. Number one, Ubisoft will be sold. Did not happen. No. Although the year before this one, I think 2024, I predicted that Saudi Arabia would buy a video game company.
I know, you did. We're always off by a year.
We're always off by a year.
This is why it's good to sometimes reprise a prediction from a previous year.
For sure. It's true, but we always pick the wrong ones.
I know, I know. We're cursed.
I probably did that this year, too. Number two, an Xbox Studios game will be nominated for Game of the Year at the Game Awards. Nope, didn't happen. Number three, a non VR Half-Life game will be announced. Nope. Number four, a single player PlayStation game will be announced for PC within three months of its PS5 release. Nope. Number five, Ace Attorney 7 will be announced. Nope. Number six, Bobby Kotick will get involved with the Trump administration in some way. Nope. Number seven, EA CEO Andrew Wilson will step down. Nope. Number eight, Switch 2 will have an availability crisis.
I feel like it did.
Really?
Uh, I don't remember the specifics that.
I guess I don't either. I don't know, but it didn't seem to me like there was a crisis on the level of, you know, the, the PS5 in 2020.
Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to argue too strongly about this one, but it didn't, it seemed like you couldn't just go into a store and buy a Switch.
But that's a console launch. It seemed like that went away pretty quickly and then it became possible to buy them.
Hard, hard for me to make that case.
I wouldn't call it a crisis, I guess.
I agree.
Number nine, Metroid Prime 4 will launch on Switch and Switch 2. Day one of Switch 2, that did not happen. Number 10, there will be fewer industry layoffs than last year. That did happen.
Hey.
I will read you guys a headline from gamesindustry.biz.
Games industry layoff figures were down slightly in 2025, but it was still horrendous.
You know what?
Okay.
A win is a win, okay, people? A win is a win.
Yeah, man, if you're gonna get one right, the one about there being fewer layoffs.
That's a nice one to get.
And my bonus was that Amazon will pull out of the video game industry. This came pretty close.
I know. You almost, this was almost too normal of a prediction in retrospect, like, because it almost happened.
Well, no, the reason it wasn't Kirk is because like, they didn't. If they, like, it would be shocking if they were like, we will get out of the video game industry entirely.
Yeah, they said that officially, too.
A normal prediction would have been, Amazon will downsize a lot and like, scale back plans.
But that would be so much harder for you to have proven. I mean, this is why the predictions game is difficult, is because we have to have binary predictions that are provable and like, how would?
Right. You know, Amazon will, will close five studios or something.
Right, exactly.
Well, it would be them saying, we are shutting down Amazon Game Studios, which as an entity, that's what.
Right.
But anyway, that, that didn't happen. Fortunately, unfortunately, they did downsize a lot. Anyway, I get one point. We will not be playing Chrono Trigger. Kirk, let's see how you fared this year.
All right, let's see how I did. Here we go. So the number to beat is two. Matty has two.
That's right.
All right. First of all, at least one game will be released and then unreleased within the year. So I looked into this and there was one game in particular that this happened with, which is a game called Steel Paws. Do the two of you know this game?
No.
I thought you were gonna say a different game that it happened to that was a lot more prominent.
Yeah, me too.
Which one are you gonna say? Because it could be that there's just one I'm not thinking of that's also very prominent. But Steel Paws was like a used, from Yuzzuki's studio. It was published by Bandai Namco. I've got the Wikipedia page here. None of us played it, but it was a real video game. It was released by Netflix and then unreleased by Netflix the same year. So it was released in March by Netflix and then unreleased in November. I'm gonna drop the link into the Discord so you guys can look at it.
I was thinking of horses, which had a pretty complex pulled from stores.
But it was released. Yeah, I thought about horses too.
Wait, guys, Slickgate. Do you not remember this? Slickgate 2, it was announced by that guy with the Make FPS Games Great Again hat at the, at Summer Games Fest.
Okay, go ahead.
And it came out like a couple of weeks after that. It flopped so hard that they pulled it from Steam.
Oh, really?
Okay, it sounds like Kirk wins this no matter how he plays it then.
So Steel Paws, which is not a game that we were aware of. Slickgate, I do remember the guy wearing the hat, but I didn't really follow its release.
How could we forget the hat and how cool it was?
This is like a very easy, straightforward story. Like Slickgate 2 came out, was a bomb.
Yep, let's do that. I totally forgot about that. Oh my god.
And then it came out like a couple of weeks ago. It relaunched and flopped again, so.
My prediction is that one game will come out three times and be pulled from stores each time.
There you go. Anyway, so that's a win for you.
Okay, I get that one. All right, next. Hollow Knight: Silk Song will actually come out.
You got it.
We played it. Yes. Number three, Valve will announce a new non-VR Half-Life game that did not happen. Number four, the new Nintendo console will have the word "Switch" in the name, AKA Jason Schreier's favorite prediction.
Uh huh. He loves it.
Did happen.
I mean, I'm, I'm just gonna spoil this for you. One of my predictions this year is that the next PlayStation will be called PlayStation 6.
So you're instead of, instead of using my prediction to raise the bar for all of us, you're going to use it to lower the bar?
Lower the bar.
No, I'm just, that's not actually what I'm predicting.
Oh, okay. All right, let's see. Next, we have got number five, Death Stranding 2. So this was actually initially one version and then we reworked it. This is the reworked version. Death Stranding 2 will feature one, one of the following people: Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Timothy Chalamet, Christopher Nolan, or Daniel Craig. No, it did not feature any of those people.
It so easily could have!
Yes. It was a good list, but it didn't, it didn't feature any of those people. If only I'd put churches on here. Damn. All right, number six. Valve will announce a new Steam controller that's on par with the Steam Deck. I got this one and I'm delighted about it because I can't wait to use that controller. And also, I get another prediction.
Do we think Kirk is psychic? Because this is getting weird. I'm just saying. Like, is this the most predictions anybody's gotten right in one year?
These are the kinds of predictions we tend to make a year or two earlier or something. It's just that a few of mine happened to come on the actual year that I predicted them. Number seven is a little wild, though. I predicted you will be able to pet the dog in the Game Awards Game of the Year winner, i.e. the game will have a pet animal interact prompt. Believe it or not, I believe that you cannot pet the dog in, in Claro Obscure Expedition 33. Ah! I don't think there's an option anywhere. I looked, I didn't play the whole game, but I've like read the whole story and everything and looked into it.
I don't think so.
I can't believe this. Like, this game seems like the kind of game that would totally have like a cat that you can pet in the opening area.
Are you sure you can't pet that thing that you ride? That's like your vehicle?
No, and he's even based on like the dog, I think, their dog from the studio, like the studio dog. Like, he is based on a dog. There are, there's like a room full of dog paintings. There is a, there are dogs in the game, but you can't pet them.
You can't pet them.
So the answer is no. I didn't get this, which I, I think is really correct. In the end, I've gotten enough already that it won't matter, but I just kind of couldn't believe that I didn't get that right.
I know. That does feel like you should have just had a layup there.
Every game lets you pet the, pet the dog. Okay, anyway. Number eight, at least two game of the year nominees will be for a studio's first game. Got halfway there. Claire Obscure was Sandfall's first game. All the other ones were not. They were all sequels. So, nope.
And two bad blueprints got robbed.
I know. It's true. That would have, that would have given me another one.
Wild. We don't need any more points for Kirk. It's fine, okay?
I want to run up the score. Number nine, in the new fable, you will be able to plant an acorn and have it grow into a tree. Unresolved, the game still has not come out. Maybe I should push that one in next season.
I assumed, I assumed you're gonna repeat this one.
I gotta just keep making it, because I gotta call that shot. And another one, actually, that we don't know yet is number 10. Square Enix will announce Final Fantasy VII Return. So basically, the prediction there is that the third Final Fantasy VII remake game will be called Return. And of course, we do not know. It has not been announced. No. And my bonus was Nintendo will announce they're bringing games to Steam. Did not happen. As likely as that seemed.
I feel like Kirk forgot to say the game we were all gonna play, which really upped the drama.
Now we get to find out what we're gonna play.
That's true.
Kirk is the runaway winner with four points.
I know.
Kirk, what are we playing?
Four. A huge four.
With four whole points, I win. We are gonna be playing Soma.
Yay.
The horror game Soma, which is gonna be pretty fun, I think. It's not super long, and it is very thought provoking and interesting. So I think we'll probably play that just for a spoiler episode in the main feed. We'll talk about it down the road. But I think we can just, anyone who's thinking about replaying that or playing it, just play the whole game. Because you gotta talk about the whole game and all the spoilers and everything. So I think that's just what we'll do. We'll play it. We'll talk about it.
Yeah, we'll, we'll figure out the timing and then tell people in advance so they can play it alongside us.
Yeah. Anyway, there we go.
It's cool. I, I played it back in the day, and I remember really loving it. So I'm excited to talk about it again with you two.
Yes, it is. That's really why I picked it is because it's just one of those concepts, a little like Pluribus, actually, given that we're about to record our Pluribus episode, where it's just like the concepts behind the game are fascinating and I love talking about them and I think it would be very fun to talk about with the three of us.
All right, it is time for 2026 predictions. We're gonna rotate, it's gonna be me and then Kirk and then Matty. Here are some quick rules to preface this all, this whole thing. Rule number one, no inside info, AKA no predictions that are based on things that we have heard about from people we talk to within the video game industry. Rule number two, no game delays, too, too easy, too obvious.
Too many games get delayed all the time. And rule number three, this is a new one for this year, we decided we, it would be too boring to make predictions about whether Grand Theft Auto VI will come out this year or not, so instead we all decided we will each pick a specific feature of Grand Theft Auto or a specific element of Grand Theft Auto to make a prediction about. So we're gonna get a little, little specific, a little granular.
And if it doesn't come out, then all three of us just don't get that.
Then, yeah, then we just lose that point.
Which seems kind of equal.
And then, yeah, I mean, in the spirit of Kirk predicting that the next Nintendo console will have switched in the name, I went a little bit easier on myself this year, although not that easy. I actually, it's, there's some things where like, I can't actually make a prediction because of that inside info rule, so like, I'm looking at like, the calendar for the year and like, the game companies and I'm like, oh, well, I can't make any Blizzard predictions, because I know everything Blizzard is doing. So I can't be like, oh, they're gonna announce this thing at BlizzCon, because I kind of already know. That said, so I'll have, have 10 predictions and a bonus for you all, are you guys ready? Okay, so my game is going to be Chrono Trigger, again. Not letting you go.
Because that just feels like, I, I'm sick of making, picking games that'll feel like punishments for you guys and I feel like Chrono Trigger is a game that we'll all actually really enjoy. Okay, number one, Grand Theft Auto VI will have an in-game version of TikTok.
Like you can make TikTok videos on your phone.
It does seem likely, but in the spirit of easier predictions.
That, yeah, that seems pretty likely. Do you think that like, I mean, I think that's like been in trailers, that there's like social media on phones. Do you think that part of it is like you make your own videos?
Yeah, you have to use it, right?
It has to be something that you actually use and post to.
It has to be interactable in some way, right?
In-game interactive version, I should say, of TikTok where you can make a video of yourself or whatever. You can make a video of something in the world and then put it on this social media feed. It can't just be that you're scrolling through videos.
Or that it's in a cutscene that the characters are using.
Yeah, it has to be something that is like a feature in the game.
Big box or whatever.
Sure.
It's a part of it. It's a feature in the game. All right. Number two, Persona 6 will be announced.
Hmm.
Number three, Xbox will announce that first-party games will no longer be day one on Game Pass.
Yeah, this is a ballsy one.
Yeah, sure.
And people will be calm about it.
Just feels like something that they might do. Number four, the Steam Machine will slip to spring or later because of RAM issues. Uh, RAM pricing.
Do you want to keep because of RAM issues? You don't want to just keep it as in a slip?
I mean, I guess that's, that's kind of in parentheses.
Okay, got it. I'm like, you're making this really hard for yourself.
But no, I'm just saying Steam Machine will slip.
And what's, it's currently announced for what? What's the, what's the date now?
But yeah, early 2026, they've said, early 2026.
Okay. I mean, spring or later is like, isn't that like April or something? Like that's, that's pretty soon.
That's still early.
Okay, let's say summer or later.
Summer or later.
Let's say summer or later. I think that's fair.
Agreed.
Summer or later, because they said early 2026. I mean, when I hear early, I think February, but yes, April, I guess could. Let's say summer or later. So June or later, let's say.
Also, Chrono Trigger is a good game.
Yeah, I mean, this is the thing is that it's fine if somebody wins. Like, somebody has to win.
I'm putting in June or later to be more specific than summer.
Five, another Elden Ring DLC or sequel will be announced.
Hmm. Okay.
Six, Danganronpa 2X2. You guys remember this? This was announced a few months ago. It's a remake of Danganronpa 2 called Danganronpa 2X2. Will secretly be Danganronpa 4.
Okay, this is the theory that you shared that is pretty exciting.
It is, it is.
That's my theory.
The way that we decide that is basically this is a continuation of the end of the story after the end of Danganronpa 3?
Yes.
Okay, sure.
Or, or I guess it feels like a sequel in some way. It doesn't have to be a continuation necessarily.
It's just like, the idea is it's kind of build right now is like it's Danganronpa 2. Like a, like a remake of Danganronpa 2 or something?
Yes, with extra content, they're saying, and I'm saying that like.
Extra content being a whole new game.
Yeah, well, so I'm saying it'll be substantial enough that it'll like feel like a new game and not just like a bonus scenario for Danganronpa 2.
I think we'll know it if we see it.
Number seven, another Zelda remake will be announced.
Hmm, okay.
Number eight, one of this year's game of the year candidates of the game awards will be two dimensional, 2D. Or HD 2D, which counts for the purposes of this.
Okay, you mean like it'll have really flat, underdeveloped characters?
Yes, exactly. Which, I mean, wasn't that last year's? Oh, hey, oh.
Bada bing, bada boom.
No, um, so like I was thinking about Mina the Hollower. Um, could be a few others that kind of qualify for this.
If Absolom had qualified, yeah.
Qualify.
That kind of game.
Havies 2, or maybe you can make the argument, I'm not sure.
I mean, Silk Song is 2D.
Yeah, Silk Song.
There, yeah. If it's Silk Song Sea of Sorrows, then that definitely qualifies. But yeah, so I'm saying one of this year's game of the year candidates will be 2D or HD 2D. Number nine, Final Fantasy 14 will be overhauled again. A realm reborn, reborn. It'll get another big overhaul that'll be announced. Won't necessarily happen this year, but it'll be announced this year. Yoshida, the director of the game, has kind of hinted that they need a fresh start. And I think that this year they're going to announce like some big, massive, something more than an expansion. Something that's really just like a complete overhaul of the game.
Okay, will they call it a realm reborn, reborn?
We can't, we can't hold them. As good as that name is.
They will call it a realm rebirth.
That should be your bonus prediction is that they'll call it a realm reborn. A realm reborn rebirth. Revenants.
Number 10, this one is the most mean spirited, but I don't know, I gotta go with my gut here. Marathon will peak at less than 10,000 concurrents on Steam.
You know, I had a similar prediction that I took out because I thought it was too mean, but sure dude.
Jason will go there. Yeah. All right. Yeah.
With, with apologies to everyone out there listening who may work at Bungie.
It's one of my extra predictions that I might have to put back in if y'all overrule any of mine.
We're worried about that game. I think that's justified.
Yeah, we're worried. Okay. We're concerned.
I'll, I'll be happy if it's, if this doesn't happen and we don't have to worry about layoffs and whatnot.
Yeah, that's.
My bonus is that EA will sell or shut down BioWare.
EA will sell or shut down BioWare.
Okay. This is another bonus that is like another industry move that feels at least somewhat likely.
Yeah, it seems at least a little.
What makes this outlandish?
Yeah, it needs to be a little crazier.
Only because I'm looking at my bonus prediction and I'm comparing it to the idea of EA selling a studio and I'm like.
I'll tell you why it's outlandish because this is contingent upon the Saudi deal closing. And then also them making a move that massive, like within a couple of months of them, like of new owners of the company, which isn't something you typically see that often where like a company will close and then make some humongous move like that right away.
Yeah. I mean, it seems unlikely. It's, it's just more in the realm of reality.
Chrono Trigger's a good game.
Yeah, listen to Maddy.
I've never played it. I don't even know.
And Kirk, by the way, you got a point for saying that the next Nintendo console will be, will have.
Hey, we aren't allowed to use that as a bargaining chip. Okay. Because if we are, then I am.
So my issue, I should just say like, it's, it's not really like with the prediction, like the likelihood of it. It's more that these crazy predictions, like, they're kind of supposed to be
There are two points.
A little more ridiculous, or I don't know, like, that's just a little more like, yeah, something that might happen. Where like, you know, I don't know, I think we've predicted, like, really crazy stuff in the past, and we're moving a little more toward, like, just extra difficult regular prediction, which isn't a huge deal and whatever. I just, when you hear my prediction, you will maybe see the difference between the two types of predictions.
Got it, got it. So, like, something like...
Remember, I predicted once that, like, an AI will become sentient or something?
Yeah, like, I predicted Half-Life 4 would be announced.
It's not gonna happen. Like, it's sort of like a joke prediction.
Right. Where, like, EA closing Bioware is like something that may well happen in the next few years.
Got it. Okay, so EA will announce Bioware 2.
Yeah, that's a little more...
Yeah, sure. That's great.
It'll be called Bioware 2.
We're closing Bioware, but we're opening Bioware 2.
No one's ever done that, so...
Yeah, I mean, they're gonna be breaking new ground.
EA will announce Bioware: A Realm Reborn.
That's actually a great idea.
That's a good prediction.
Hire some more people. Get some new blood in there.
Okay, nice. Should we go through those one more time? Or I guess we'll do this at the end. We'll go through them all.
Yeah, we'll read them all again at the end. But again, my game is Chrono Trigger. All right, Kirk, you are next up.
Okay, here we go. Some of mine are repeats because I just want to see if they'll come true, and they haven't yet. Number one, Square will announce Final Fantasy VII: Return. This is a repeat. I just really want to know if I can call that shot, if I'm gonna get it right or not.
I think you will, but I'll allow it.
We'll see.
Well, the announcement seems pretty...
Pretty imminent.
But I also think the title is very likely.
Yeah, I mean, the problem, well, one advantage for you, the problem is that reunion seems like the obvious one, but they use that already for the Crisis Core remake.
Right, that's my thinking. And like, Return, there's like a bunch of like, stuff about Return to the Planet and stuff in Final Fantasy. And, yeah, I think they won't use reunion, even though that would have been my guess. All right, number two, GTA 6 will feature a character based on Charlie Kirk.
Oh god.
So initially, I was thinking that your character would like kill this character. I don't think that that's exactly GTA's speed, though. But I do think that there'll be someone, there'll be like a controversy about this because there's a character who's like pretty clearly based on him, like not just like a right wing provocateur or whatever.
Yeah, I feel like that's the hard part of your prediction, actually, is proving that the character's based on Charlie Kirk as opposed to being sort of a template right wing.
I think we'll know, I think we can kind of debate it at the time. But if he's like going around a college campuses and debating people and stuff, like if it's a little more clearly Charlie Kirk inspired.
I mean, you're the one with the hard prediction.
It's funny, I would think, I would think if that were the case, they would have removed him by now, but yeah.
That's part of why it's risky.
That's kind of what the prediction is like that they're gonna be like YOLO and leave it in and maybe soften it a little bit or something, but, but leave it in because it'll have been long enough by the time the game comes out.
I don't think this is gonna happen, so keep it on, man, keep it on.
Number three, all three consoles, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch, will get a price increase this year. So the like base console will become more expensive, all three of them.
So is this not counting the price increases that already happened, like in addition to those, that they'll get new price increases?
Get new ones this year.
New ones, okay.
Wow, okay, that'd be crazy.
Right. Number four, a Roblox game will be nominated for a game award on its own, like a game made in Roblox will be nominated for any game award.
Any game award presumably, okay, yep.
And not, this doesn't count, obviously, like Roblox being nominated for best community support or whatever, like it has to be.
Right, it needs to be an individual game, yeah, understood.
Or a Roblox, yeah, native game.
They should have a category, maybe at some point they'll do a category for like games made within other games like Roblox and Fortnite.
Yeah, or just best Roblox game.
I guess Roblox has its own award ceremony, so they, they do, like they, they don't even need the game awards. Okay, number five is a repeat Valve will announce a new non VR Half-Life game. Let's go, let's go. It's finally gonna happen one of these years.
When you say non VR, what if it's like it's playable in VR and also in non VR?
That counts. Like, it's mostly just like not a Half-Life Alyx thing.
Not just like exclusive to VR.
Something to go with their new VR headset that's like a set in the Half-Life world. All right, number six, Sony will announce a new PlayStation Portable. So this is discreet from the, whatever it's called.
The cloud streaming version of the handheld that they have now?
Yeah, it's not a streaming, but like a, you know, portable, like maybe, I don't know what, PS4 level, like kind of a new portable gaming device that plays Sony games.
A PSP-like, but maybe bigger and nicer.
A new PlayStation Portal, or Portable, they'll call it PlayStation Portable something with like a subtitle, I don't know. But the prediction is just they'll announce some, a portable console. Seven, one more repeat, in Fable, you will be able to plant an acorn and have it grow into a tree. That game is coming out, I swear to God, and we're gonna see if that happens. I'm kind of increasingly pessimistic about this one coming true.
Oh no.
Just because like seeing footage of that game, it kind of just doesn't seem like it has anything in common with the systemic Malinu junk that was in the original ones, but maybe they'll still have it in as an Easter egg. All right. Number eight, Team Cherry will make The Knight playable in Silk Song.
So somehow there's gonna be a playable Knight, and by the Knight, I don't mean the boss Knight, I mean like the playable character from Hollow Knight, the vessel, The Knight.
Like in a DLC?
Maybe, or like there's some, they add another mode where you can like select and play as The Knight, or I don't know, they'll just add them to the game one way or another, you will be able to play as The Knight.
Interesting. How would that even work?
I don't know, it just seemed kind of like a fun prediction.
It's fun.
It's a fun one.
Number nine, Xbox Game Pass will come to PlayStation or Switch.
And number 10, Nintendo will announce a Star Fox movie.
You, you want that to not be your crazy bonus prediction?
Nope, that's just a regular prediction.
A real one? Okay, okay buddy.
That's my 10th prediction, and my crazy bonus prediction, Epic will add Joe Biden to Fortnite.
I really just made this prediction because I just thought of it and then started laughing and laughing. And I was like, I think I have to make this my prediction.
That should happen, honestly.
Just imagine that like Kamala and Joe are like the play.
Like of all.
Wouldn't that have been last year?
Yeah, that's part of why it's so funny.
Now it's even better because it's like so far past either of them were in any way relevant. And that they're just like now coming to Fortnite, Joe Biden. And he's like, hey, what's up? And he says, I'm Andrag Joe.
I'm gonna go ahead and say that if they add Dark Brandon, we're gonna count it. Because I think we should. I think we should. Even meme versions of Biden count for this prediction coming true.
Any version of Joe Biden.
But it has to be an official announcement. Has to be, has to be approved by Joe Biden himself to have his image appearing.
It'll be developed by BioWare 2.
Kirk, once again, you forgot at the top to say your game.
I know, I thought I'd say it at the end because it will make you both delighted. If I win, my game will be The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.
Oh, I love that game.
We talked, I was just listening back to our Ocarina episode, which we ran in the main feed. And we talked some about how like, I've never played that game.
Oh, right.
So I'm actually picking a game that I haven't played.
And I think it would just be super fun to play that and talk about it with you both.
It's so, it's a wonderful game.
The problem with that pick is that it kind of, it prevents us from just being like, hey, let's all play Twilight Princess.
Well, I better win then, I guess.
I guess, I guess we better have Kirk win.
Matty, you're up.
Okay, number one, in Grand Theft Auto VI, Lucia will be revealed to be queer slash not only attracted to men. It's trendy. I just feel like it could happen.
Number two, Leon Kennedy is going to turn out to be Grace's dad in Resident Evil Requiem.
Whoa, dad reveal, okay.
This is just a popular fan theory. I actually hope it doesn't happen, but that's neither here nor there. Number three.
A AAA game advertisement will brag that the game doesn't use generative AI.
Hmm. So like the ad will specifically say-
Yeah, like a trailer will say, like, "We didn't use Gen I to make this."
Okay, and this is AAA, like specifically like a big budget thing.
It has to be a big game. It has to be a big game and that has to be part of an ad.
Because there are plenty of already indie games that say that in there.
That's easy. It's gotta be one of the big guys. Okay. Number four. Laura Kinney, aka X23, will have a cameo in the Wolverine game.
Oh, okay. This being the girl from Logan.
The female Wolverine, the female clone of, yeah, and she's in the movie Logan, that's right.
Played by the girl from His Dark Materials. I'm forgetting the actress's name.
Yeah, Daphne Keen. Yeah.
Daphne Keen, right. And she's got blades in her feet.
And she messes dudes up in that movie super hard.
She's a real fan favorite character, but much like my Spider Gwen prediction, I feel like I've never gotten one of these right. I'm always predicting female Marvel characters will appear in Insomniac Games. I just, I'm trying to manifest this, okay?
So when you say appear, you just mean like, like in some form?
Like with Spider Gwen, I predicted she was playable and I didn't even come close. She didn't even show up. So right now I'm walking it back. I'm like, she'll just show up at all.
Even if it's at the very end, there's like a teaser post credits that's like, she's gonna be in the sequel. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that said-
But it has to be that she is in the game.
She has to be in the game. So we're not gonna count like a post credits reveal.
Or like an Easter egg that's like a file with a photo of her or something.
I was gonna say a post credits reveal, if it shows her face, seems like it would apply. I'm saying that like if it's like you find a collectible that references X23, that doesn't count.
That doesn't count. She needs to have been like a model that appeared in a cutscene or in the game.
I think post credits should definitely count for that purpose. It's just like you have to see her face.
Right. And it can't be a scene where they're in a lab and two guys are talking and they're like, "It's time for X23."
And they're like, "We're gonna make a clone." And she doesn't exist yet. That would count.
She's in the game.
Okay, cool. Number five, the Switch 2 will get a $50 price increase.
That's very specific.
I know. It sounds like I have inside info. I don't. I just made this up.
Yeah, I was gonna say that's easier than mine because I guessed all three, but also it's harder because it's specific to the amount of money.
It's harder because it's very specific. Uh, number six, Phil Spencer will step down as CEO.
Number seven, Halo will come to Switch.
That wasn't announced that it's coming to Switch? I guess not.
It's just heavily rumored.
Near as I could tell. So, I mean, you can, you can always overrule me if you feel like it's too heavily rumored.
No, I just didn't remember.
Again, I have no inside info on any of these. These are just things I think could happen.
No, no, no. This isn't, I was, I just didn't remember if the remake was announced for Switch 2, but I guess it wasn't.
It wasn't that I could find.
Uh, okay. Number eight, FF7 Remake Part 3 will get a release date.
Well, that would have to be a specific date.
Yes, it would have to be a date.
Spring 2027 or something like that.
That's right. I'm saying date. I'm saying they've given it a date. And even if that date changes later, that doesn't matter. It just gets a date.
Yep.
Okay. Uh, number nine, Waluigi will be in the Mario movie sequel.
Hmm. Waluigi.
Yeah, Waluigi.
Not Mario, but Waluigi. Okay.
No, no, no. Who cares?
Well, this is in the spirit of last year's prediction that Waluigi will be in the Mario game.
I just feel like that guy has got to show up sooner or later, okay?
We're all waiting for Waluigi.
I just think he's a cool guy. Uh, number 10, Luigi's Mansion 4 will be announced.
Okay. Here's my bonus prediction. This is part of why I clowned on one of Kirk's predictions. Nintendo will announce a Metroid film.
Hmm. Given Metroid Prime 4, that seems even less likely, but...
Exactly. I was like, this seems crazy enough that it won't happen?
Mm-hmm.
Possibly ever.
Well, that's definitely not far-fetched. To your point earlier, Kirk, about the bonus one.
But it would never...
Okay, should I make it more...
No, no, no. I'm not saying, I mean, mine is EA will sell slash ship down slash and that's a sequel to Mario.
You know, like, they'll announce a Metroid movie that's entirely in first person. I don't know.
You know, trying to think it's a silent film. I think entirely first person would be.
A silent film, can you imagine? A Metroid film, I mean, how would they go about announcing that it was silent? Like, that's in the ad. They're like, don't worry.
They're like, no talking.
A legend comes to the screen.
We, we heard you guys hate all the talking in Metroid, so.
Okay, here, I'll, I'll make it a little harder, even though I don't know why I'm doing this.
No, you don't have to. I think you're fine.
All right, fine, fine. Um, the game that I chose is Bioshock 1. I just thought this would be fun for us to replay.
Yeah, that'd be great.
And talk about, it's an old timey game.
Would you kindly, et cetera? Just thought it'd be a fun one. So those are my predictions.
Cool.
Nice.
All right, so all of our predictions will be in the show notes as always, so you can peruse them easily. And yeah, we're excited. We'll be keeping, keeping tally throughout the year and seeing what we have to play. As for now, we will be playing Soma at some point. When we're off air, we'll discuss when we're going to play it and we'll let you all know so you can play along with us. All right, let's take a break and then we'll be back with one more thing.
I'm Jordan Cruciola, host of Feeling Seen, where every week I have a different actor, director, or writer as my co-host. And whoever that co-host may be, it is a sure bet that we are digging deep and having a great time doing it.
I love that you just said that.
Yeah, I mean, if I were going to join a cult, I think this might be it. A fresh look at your favorite film and a peek behind the curtain at how movies get made.
Oh, okay, I'm gonna tell you this whole story. Okay, I almost got fired from that movie.
You should be listening to Feeling Seen.
I had so much fun. I love what you're doing.
I hope I did okay. New episodes every week on Maximum Fun.
On Judge John Hodgman, the courtroom is fake, but the disputes are real.
Brian would say, I'm the Gumby of this family. He's just not.
Claiming to be Gumby is an ungumby-like claim. No, it's just Gumby and I being our authentic selves.
So what's your complaint? Too many sauces?
There are no foods on which to put the sauces.
Have we named all the sauces on the top shelf yet? Not, not even close. You economize when it comes to pants.
Truly, it's not about the cleanliness of the pants.
Well, why isn't it? This is what I want to know. Judge John Hodgman, fake court, weird cases, real justice. On MaximumFun.org, YouTube, and everywhere you get podcasts.
And we are back. Kirk and Maddy, it is time for one more thing. Maddy, kick us off.
I have been playing a video game called The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy. I have joined with the two of you in playing a really great game. Of course, Jason has already completed it and gotten all 100 endings, apparently. So perhaps joined is the wrong word. I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I mostly am saying this because I want to convince more of our listeners to try this game. I think most people would hear like, kind of, oh, it's got 100 endings. It's 100 hours. The real game doesn't even start until you're 30 hours in. I mean, these are all turnoffs when I hear them. But I just wanted to say, I really love this game. I think the story is thrilling and exciting.
The mysteries are gripping. It's kept me really glued to it and fascinated by it. I think the characters are clever and funny. There's a lot of moments that I laughed, especially in the first 30 hours. There's some kind of low stakes plotlines that unfold. And then there are some high stakes plotlines that unfold later on, life or death plotlines. But I just really enjoy all of these characters and hanging out with them. And there's a lot of twists and turns along the way. So I'm, I'm really digging it. And I also just think that even if you hear, oh, the game doesn't really start until 30 hours. Those first 30 hours are still pretty frickin' fun. I just, I just want to go ahead and say that. Also, Kirk talked about it a little last time around when this was his one more thing, but.
There are strategy battles that kind of interrupt the visual novel piece of the game that is the bulk of the game. A lot of this game is reading, but the strategy battles are really, really fun. And I just dig it a lot. I think that that blend of two different, super different kinds of gameplay really works for the game and just has made it a favorite of mine and probably would have made it onto my game of the year list if I had managed to play it earlier in the year. I'm just playing it now because why not? So yeah, I really recommend it just all around. If you like a good story and also if you like something that kind of has danganronpa vibes, but has some of that turn-based tactics stuff,
like what we were talking about when we were discussing how great Final Fantasy Tactics is, it's kind of like a, it's not quite like that, but if you like that sort of thing, you'll probably like the tactical gameplay in this as well because it's turn-based and grid-based at least. And you have a bunch of characters with different kinds of abilities to control. And yeah, I'm just digging it. So once again, it's called The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy. I think more of our listeners should check it out. It's really good, really fun.
I'd say the strategy combat is a little bit more like Into the Breach or like Tactical Breach Wizards, where it's more just trying to solve a puzzle by like doing things in optimal order as opposed to tactics, which is more like an RPG in that you can customize your characters and your loadouts are more important than what you're doing.
Yeah, there's very minimal customization in Hundred Line. It does exist, but you're right that it's not as like half the game or perhaps over half the game of Final Fantasy Tactics is customizing your characters, whereas in Hundred Line, it's kind of rudimentary. But still.
Yeah, it's exciting that you're both playing through it because it makes me feel like we should do a Beans Cast, a spoiler cast where we really dive deep into this game.
That'd be fun. We were talking about this, I think, just the three of us in chat. And we were talking about a difference with Danganronpa that I thought was interesting, that I just want to mention on the show, which is that it starts out at the beginning, it really feels like Danganronpa, but then it, over time, feels less and less like it because a huge difference from Danganronpa is that in Danganronpa, characters are dying off throughout the game. And so the cast is getting smaller and smaller. And really, the ending of a Danganronpa game for me is always kind of the hardest part for me to get through because like, I want to see how it ends, but it's also like so few characters. And some of the best characters are usually dead. They kind of die early, or they get convicted and executed or whatever. So, or punished, I should say. So this game
has the opposite effect where everybody sticks around. And then because of the branching narrative, nature of the narrative, like, you actually get more characters the further in you are. So, once you're like 40, 50, 60 hours into the game, you have the biggest cast ever and things are even more complicated and you've gotten to know every character so well. That's like a great structural change that really allows, that really allows you to get to know the characters. One other thought is, I do kind of want to do a Beans cast on this. It's so freaking long. I realized and looked around, on PC, there are mods that are like these QOL mods that let you just like skip fights, that let you like speed things up in a lot of ways that make it way easier to see a whole bunch of endings, where you can kind of experience the story. And then if there comes a point where you're
like, I don't need to do another strategy battle because I've played 80 hours of this game or whatever, you can just start skipping them or like fast forwarding through things or making yourself really powerful. Exploration quests, you can just fly through them, or you can have infinite resources to just make stuff, make it so that your social links level up faster. Like, you can speed the game up in a lot of ways to like reduce that friction and make it so you can just focus on the story. And I think I'm gonna mess around with that and do that because that seems appealing to me, given how much I've played at this point and how I want to see a lot of endings, but I'm kind of like, okay, like, I have other things I want to play. I have other things I want to do.
Yeah, I get that. I'm not at that point quite yet, but I could see myself getting there. I'm already starting to hit the point where I'm like, okay, another battle. I really just want to see what happens next in this part of the story that I've now entered into because I'm, I'm just trying out different choices and seeing where they lead. So, that's a, that's a really fun part of the game that, the story just becomes the best part. And so I get how the other pieces are just the part you want to skip.
You guys have no idea.
Well, Jason has also warned us that some of the endings are not.
It's your feedback. Jason, it's your warnings that make me think like, I think I should do some things on my end to mitigate this stuff to make the game more enjoyable.
I think that's a good idea, but even then, like some of the endings or some of the routes that you can go on are just so grueling and repetitive and monotonous that you have to kind of, I would recommend just kind of looking up which are the best ones and how to get those if you can find like a spoiler free guide.
At some point, I'm gonna ask you.
Yeah, or I'll tell you. Yeah.
Yeah. Why haven't you written a guide personally for?
Yeah, I should.
Don't you have enough to do?
I should. Who's gonna pay me to start writing game back guides?
For Bloomberg.
The other thing I'll say is that like, you can skip battles if you've already done them.
And you can skip explorations now, or at least I can.
Yeah, they added that, I think.
Finally.
Which is nice. But yeah, the mod makes it so you can skip any fight at all. Like, you can skip every fight for the rest of the game.
Got it. Okay, Kirk, what's your one more thing?
My one more thing is a book that I finished a few weeks ago that I've been waiting to make my one more thing to talk about called The Rosefield by Philip Pullman, because it's amazing. And I'm, I just haven't read a book like it in so long. So The Rosefield is the third book in what's called The Book of Dust, which is a trilogy by Pullman that is a follow-up trilogy to His Dark Materials. So His Dark Materials, if you don't know that name, you probably do know the name of the first book, The Golden Compass, which was sort of adapted into a pretty bad movie that I've never seen and then later adapted into a, I would say quite good, beyond serviceable and quite good HBO series that I have seen, that I enjoyed that actually.
I forgot about that.
And that we just shouted out.
I forgot that existed.
Because of Stephanie Keen in it.
That's Dark's X23. I would, but I would have to stress to anyone who hears that, read those books. If you are at all interested in this series, don't watch the show, even the good show or the movie, definitely don't watch the bad movie. Read the books because the books are amazing. They're some of my favorite books. The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. So that's the original trilogy, which tells the story of a girl named Lyra Belacqua, who becomes Lyra Silvertongue and her adventure. It is...
Not to be confused with Matt Bevelacqua.
Right. Not to be confused with. It's a hard book series to summarize. It is...
Fantasy.
There's so much that happens. I've, I've read them several times and I would say that Pullman writes in a realm of pure imagination that I think is very rare. He conjures worlds that are so evocative and yet so mysterious and dreamlike that there are times where I read a whole section, especially in Amber Spyglass and the third of those books. And then I'm like, wait, what just happened? And I go back and read it again because it almost becomes like abstract. It's hard to describe. But of course, the coolest thing in these books and the thing that I'll, I guess the one bit of world building that is worth keeping in mind is the idea of demons. So in this world, it's kind of a parallel world that the technology seems more
or less like mid 20th century-ish. There's, you know, there's differences in technology and similarities, but the big difference is that in this world, in the world of the golden compass, every human being has a demon. And your demon is a small animal that goes with you everywhere, that is typically, I think, almost always like your opposite gender. So like men would have a wom- like I would have a cat and she would have a name and she would talk to me and be my like, the best way I can describe it is that your demon is your soul. It is essentially your externalized soul and then it's also your life mate. And if your demon is killed, you die. And if you die, your demon evaporates. So it's like
every person is really two. And that's this incredibly beautiful and interesting idea that is like at the core of the whole thing. Like the, you know, there's a lot of stuff that happens in these books, but the relationship between the human and the demon is like the idea that is maybe the most evocative and also the most deeply explored. So, cut to 2017, many, many years after the original trilogy, Pullman announces a new trilogy called The Book of Dust, which begins with a book called La Belle Sauvage. And that's a great book and it's very interesting. It takes place in Oxford, which is where Lyra, the main character of the original trilogy, lives. And it's about her when she's a baby. So it's actually a prequel. It takes place before the events of the new trilogy and it tells the story of a new character named Malcolm.
A couple of new characters, really, but Malcolm is kind of the central character. He's a young boy, kind of around the same age Lyra was in the original trilogy. So that's La Belle Sauvage, came out in 2017, a really great book. And I actually went and reread this whole trilogy before The Rosefield, because I wanted to refresh myself on what happened. So then, cut to The Secret Commonwealth, that came out around 2020, I think, 2021. Twenty nineteen. This tells the story of, uh, 2019. This tells the story of Lyra 10 years after the events of his dark material. So now she is 20 years old. And I remembered having kind of mixed feelings about it at the time. I went and reread it, knowing that I could just go straight on to the third and final book. And it made it so much more enjoyable of an experience, just because it's like, it's half of a book.
Like, I would really say that The Secret Commonwealth and The Rosefield are one big book. And, I mean, La Belle Sauvage really is an integral part of it as well, but timeline, it takes place like 10 years earlier and feels a little more like a standalone thing. But I, I really, it was so much more pleasurable to read Secret Commonwealth and then just go straight into The Rosefield. Anyways, this is a lot of buildup to say, The Rosefield is the final book. This is just a straight sequel to The Secret Commonwealth. It picks up literally immediately at the end. The Secret Commonwealth ends on a like, mother of a cliffhanger. And you're like, what? That's the end of the book? I have to wait five years, six years for the finale? Yes, people did. And now the finale is out. And so I read this book just like, in a kind of, I don't know, in a dream state. I just like read through the entire thing.
I couldn't believe that I was reading it. And it was such a bittersweet experience. I mean, this is, you know, Pullman is 79 years old. He's pretty, he's getting pretty up there. His health is apparently not great. He has described this as the final of the stories of Lyra, and it's him saying goodbye. And like, I just can't, I, I can't spoil anything about this book. It would almost be impossible to do so, but like, I, I can't believe this book, reading it, compared to every other book I've read in the last four or five years. It never does what you expect. He doesn't, he's just not interested in like, giving closure or in like, pursuing plot beats in a way that gives you like, the full satisfaction. Instead, he just
Explores these ideas, these really beautiful ideas about religion and capital and money and creativity and ultimately imagination. And that's what this whole trilogy is about. It's about imagination, especially these last two books. Lyra and Pantaleman, who's the name of her demon Pan, have been split up and he leaves her. They separated in the original trilogy and so ever since they've had the ability to separate from one another. And they kind of fall out with one another. And it's this really heartbreaking thing that happens at the beginning of Secret Commonwealth. And he leaves and he says, "I'm going to find your imagination because you've lost it." And that kind of winds up being the like central question of these books is like, what is the imagination? And
what does it mean that Lyra has lost hers? And why did she lose it? You know, these books she was reading, these thoughts she was having, what was it? And what's happening to the world? And is the world losing its collective imagination? Is that causing something to happen to the demons? And like, there are all these big questions. But throughout the book, and especially throughout Rosefield, like, characters just talk to one another about what the imagination is, and they never settle it. Like, there's, there are a couple of really beautiful summaries of what it is, like, how it's like, you know, the, the world of thought and spirit becoming real and the imagination is the process through which those like two things are connected. But it never like nails it down for you. It just leaves you thinking. And every conversation, the characters are saying, "I don't even know what imagination is. I don't even know
what dust is." Like, they're still questioning that, all these books later. And I just walked away from it like, totally enchanted is the, that's the only word I could use. Like, I, I ended it and I was like, "Oh, my God." Like, it was, it was totally overwhelming for me to finish it. I want to reread it, but to give it some time. But I just haven't read something like that, like a work of towering imagination, of like, pure fantasy in a really long time, like, that, that affected me as, in such a complex way. So, I just can't recommend it enough. It's a beautiful book. I'm sure anyone out there who's a fan of these series has been waiting for this book forever and has already read it. But I just wanted to say, I read it. I really loved it. And yeah, I hope anyone
hearing this who hasn't engaged with Pullman's writing will, because he is like, one of the great fantasy writers.
Yeah, I really loved The Golden Compass, his Dark Materials books as a young adult. And I actually didn't know that he did another trilogy. So this is information for me specifically.
Yeah, they're, they're, they're really good.
Yeah, I remember you having mixed feelings about that second one. So it's nice to know that this offers some, some sort of closure or non-closure, I suppose.
It's, it's really complicated. I would need to have a like four hour conversation with someone to really get into it, which I obviously won't do, but, but yeah, I'd love it if the two of you read them and just, just to hear what you think of them.
Yeah, I also enjoyed the original trilogy, but have not read the new ones. Okay, cool. My one more thing is also a book that I read on vacation and it's called That's Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas. Craig Thomas is a former screenwriter or screenwriter who is the co-creator of the sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. And he wrote this book that is about, that is about a screenwriter who had a big hit and has since been unable to get much in the way of work and also has to deal with a son with Down syndrome.
And Craig Thomas's son doesn't have Down syndrome, but has a similar like sort of chromosome disease. And so immediate fun parallels there in that as you're reading the book, you're like, all right, how much of this is Craig Thomas's life versus not? And it's really, it's a fun, kind of breezy, not mind blowing, but a fun book. The story is that this screenwriter wrote this, this, this film ages ago, and it was so popular that it helped carry him through his career. And it's about his life with his family, his wife, who feels underappreciated because she had to stay at home and watch the kids while he was like kind of jutting back and forth between Hollywood and New York where they live.
And then the son who has Down syndrome and his kind of his. Ways of progressing through life and his struggles and how he like operates in the world. He works at this coffee shop that has been set up by the wife who started this small business, this coffee shop that is for people with Down syndrome and other similar issues to work at. And then also the daughter, the younger sister who feels underappreciated because she's neurotypical and just hasn't had the same issues as her brother and therefore her parents just kind of like assume that she'll, she's totally fine and they can just let her be and they don't have to pay her any attention. So it's really interesting
family dynamic and the plot is that the wife, Paige, she writes this book about their family. It's kind of like a memoir about raising this kid with Down syndrome and what it's been like and what their journey has been like. And that memoir is picked up by this Hollywood star who then wants to turn it into a movie. And so the roles are kind of reversed and the story goes, follows this saga as like they go through this journey of like trying to get this movie made and what it means for the family and all the changes that get made to their story and them like seeing these actors who are playing versions of them. Like they find this hot shot young like Timothy Chalamet type to
play the kid, the boy with Down syndrome, even though this actor doesn't have Down syndrome. And that becomes a whole question. The husband, the father of the family, Rob, wants to be the screenwriter on the, on the movie and wants to write the film version, which Paige isn't entirely comfortable with. And so the way the book is structured, it alternates between each characters, each of the four family members' perspectives in these kind of short blurbs, which is a fun way to do it. It gives it a little bit of a cinematic quality and feels a little breezy. Again, it's not, it's not like, it's not a literary novel by any means. It's not something where you'll be reading it and thinking
about imagination, the way you might come away from the book. You just described Kirk, but, um, but it's fun. It's a fun read and it's very fun reading something. That kind of like feels in some ways like it might be a thinly veiled biography and trying to figure out what's true and what's not, what's based on this guy's life, what isn't. It's always fun to read about family dynamics and how they unfold and the dysfunctions plaguing them. What was it? Tolstoy says, "All happy families are alike and all unhappy families are unhappy in their own ways." This one is a fun, unhappy one to read unfold. And also, it's a really, I think, really strong portrayal of Down Syndrome and what
it's like raising a kid with Down Syndrome and what it's like for a kid to have Down Syndrome and what his life is like and just kind of the struggles they have to face. At some point, they talk a little bit about like some of the bullying that he faced and his sister trying to protect him and him being like, "No, don't fucking protect me. Like, it's even worse for me if like my younger sister is trying to protect me. Let me deal with this." And just a lot of really interesting, just kind of very true point of view, points of view on what it is like to raise a kid with those kind of chromosomal issues. So yeah, it's a cool book. It's called That's Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas. And if you enjoyed How I Met Your Mother, the audiobook, which I did not listen to, I read the physical book, but the audiobook is actually read by the characters who play,
the actors who play Ted and Robin in How I Met Your Mother. Oh, really? Josh Rainer and Colby Smothers. So it's a, it's a, it's a fun read and I bet that is also really enjoyable. Nice. Colby Smalders, not Smothers. And yeah, it's cool. Neat. Nice. Yeah, that sounds good. All right. That is that for this week's episode. We will be back as usual next week. Kirk, Maddy, I'll see you both next time. Yeah, see you both next time. Bye.
Triple Click is produced by Jason Schreier, Maddy Myers, and me, Kirk Hamilton. I edit and mix the show and also wrote our theme music. Our show art is by Tom DJ. Some of the games and products we talked about on this episode may have been sent to us for free for review consideration. You can find a link to our ethics policy in the show notes. TripleClick is a proud member of the Maximum Fun Podcast Network, and if you like our show, we hope you'll consider supporting us by becoming a member at maximumfun.org/join. Email us at [email protected] and find links to our merch store and our Discord server in the show notes. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
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