Cyberpunk 2077

Alex and Luke Talk Night City, Mainline Endings, and Never Having Dinner at Embers.

Cyberpunk 2077, developed and published by CD Projekt Red, launched in December 2020 and has since completed one of the most dramatic redemption arcs in modern gaming. Set in the neon-drenched chaos of Night City, this open-world RPG blends cyberware upgrades, branching narratives, high-speed gunplay, and existential dread into one sprawling, synth-soaked package. Whether you came for Keanu Reeves, the hacking, or the moral ambiguity, this is a game that swings big and refuses to be subtle.

At the time of recording, Cyberpunk 2077 holds a Metacritic score of 86 on PC and 87 on Xbox Series X. According to HowLongToBeat, the main story averages around 25 hours, with completionist runs easily stretching beyond 60+ hours depending on how deep you dive into side gigs and fixer drama. In true Low Five fashion: you can mainline it, but Night City really wants you to linger.

Alex played on PC and rolled credits, seeing one of the game’s endings through to completion. Luke played on Xbox Series X and is still roaming Night City — notably having never eaten at Embers. Together they unpack how the game feels post-redemption, where the writing shines, how the combat holds up, and whether the hype cycle ultimately helped or hurt the legacy.

This episode is unofficially brought to you in part by fake patriotism for the Olympics.

Audio Credits:

 “V” from Cyberpunk 2077 Original Soundtrack — composed by Marcin Przybyłowicz, P.T. Adamczyk, and Paul Leonard-Morgan — © CD Projekt Red.

 “You Don’t Know What Love Is” by Chet Baker — featured on Cyberpunk 2077 91.9 Royal Blue Radio — © respective rights holders.

 Original theme music owned by Low Five Gaming.

Chapters

• 0:22 Cyberpunk 2077
• 35:08 Spoiler Wall
• 52:23 Unsanctioned Sponsor: Fake Patriotism for the Olympics
• 1:04:42 Sidequestin'

Transcript

Luke: 0:22

All right, Choom, you're ready to go?

Alex: 0:24

Yeah. What up, Night City? I just finished boosting some preem cyberware, ran a stealth net run through our Arasaka subnet, almost got flatlined by some gonks and barely escaped with my Eddies intact. Luke, you living that corpo life? Going full Street Kid Chaos? Or you just cruising the badlands looking for trouble? You wrote this down, right? There's no way you crushed that. Dude, I didn't write anything down. I got that, I got the chip in my neck and the information in my brain. That was preem, my choom. That was preem. You didn't gonk out on that one. No, sir. What up, chooms? Welcome to another episode of LoFive Gaming, official mainline episode 48. We have more episodes out there than 48, but mainline low5 episode 48. Pretty cool, bro. Very cool. Very cool.

Luke: 1:13

A little late night lo-fi for those. Um, we tried to be in person, but it but it'd be hard.

Alex: 1:18

So here we are.

Luke: 1:19

You know.

Alex: 1:19

Hey man, for Cyberpunk 2077, might as well be doing it on the internet.

Luke: 1:24

Yeah, you gotta do it through some tech. We're just some net runners here. Also, like Stevie Roger Greg, he's sloppy as fuck.

Alex: 1:31

So I learned everything today!

Luke: 1:35

Sloppy as you guys are right now.

Alex: 2:06

Welcome, welcome to another episode, everybody. We are talking Cyberpunk 2077, the polished version. Don't let lead you astray. We are not talking to what it comes when this comes out 2020. Yes, December 2020.

Luke: 2:19

Yeah. This was the pod that was promised, and uh, we just got done, well, or near the end of playing the game that was promised. Not what we originally delivered, but what was promised, which is really cool. Great game.

Alex: 2:31

Released December 10th, 2020. I bought it shortly after because this is around the time that I got my at the time new rig. My rig's still pretty, you know, it's still chucking along here, but it's it's no longer new. We're five, six, six years deep. It ran pretty well at launch on PC. In fact, I was looking it up in uh Metacritic score upon launch on PC, 86 out of 100. Not the case for PS4, Xbox, and everything else.

Luke: 2:59

I had a PS4 at the time, and I did not even bother, and it was delisted before anyone could even really do too much for it. And it was back in the day when it was pretty much impossible to get PlayStation 5s or Xboxes, so it's been on the wish list forever as I played all sorts of other stuff. Right. But it's been the media story that whether you liked it or you hated it, it's been around the whole time. 100%.

Alex: 3:23

I mean, I got it, I had like, you know, I got my 3080 and everything. So at the time that was like the, you know, I think we're up to the 5050 series or whatever for NVIDIA. But like at the time, I was like, okay, this game, I'm buying it new. I usually don't like to buy my especially PC games, I don't like to buy them new. I like to wait for sales. Uh, but for this one, I was full send. I was like, I think I had a little Christmas cash, probably for mom and dad. And I was like, I'm gonna use it for Cyberpunk. And it was cool, dude. Like, I mean, it's beautiful, it worked great. It was a there's some weird little glitches, but uh, but I didn't really have a real problem with it, but it didn't really I I put about 15 hours in, but it was like it's one of those weird games where like I put 15 hours in, but it didn't feel like I put any significant time into it. So I was surprised to find out when I revisited that I had put that much time in.

Luke: 4:09

Five to ten hours until you hit the title card. Very Assassin's Creed Odyssey of them. For sure. Um pretty obnoxious. But I didn't have a problem. It doesn't make too it makes sense that you were pretty early on it as you are um listeners of the pod will know that you're a Witcher 3 fanboy. And uh, you know, we're big fans of CD Project Red here. The Witcher. Well, we shouldn't really say that. We've nicely just played these two games, but they both slap, all right?

Alex: 4:34

Yes, this is true. And you know, so I didn't I didn't get fully into it, but I mean it's everybody knows. If you play if you're in the video game realm, if you've been playing video games, you know that this was like the biggest botched launch of probably all time.

Luke: 4:47

Yeah, it's right up there with um like Diablo 3, I guess. I guess that's different, similar but different. I was thinking of uh what's the space game drawn a stupid um on record blank? It's like the sandbox space game, dude. Starfield? No.

Alex: 5:03

The one that just hasn't come out, the one that's gotten millions and millions of dollars, but they haven't released it officially. No.

Luke: 5:10

Yeah, they promised you the galaxy, and then over time they've slowly built the game into what was promised, and it's super cool. It's more yeah, we go. Yep, good pot right there. Yeah, it was like this, and No Man's Sky came out, and it interestingly like brought in an era of online journalism angst slash consumer angst and like all this weird to be fair, us versus the corpos to tie into the game, dude. The corpos like pushing out the publishing, dude, quarterly this and that. Like you could kind of feel and all these different things. And uh thankfully they gave it the redemption story, and then I'm playing on the Phantom Liberty expansion, which um is hailed as well and is super cool, and they just really were in their bag, and they decided that Keanu Reeves wasn't even cool enough that they also now needed Idris Elba. Yes, some really high-end like one part of me thinks it's really cool that they got these like really cool characters and people to do it, and another part of me is like just hire video game actors, but am I gonna complain about Keanu Reeves and Idris Alba? No, not on this pile, right? I'm not not this guy, bud. Not this guy.

Alex: 6:16

Uh yeah, that's an interesting angle. And the thing is though, is like the the video game actors, like voice actors and stuff. Uh it's so incestual as well. Like, you just get the same person over and over in all these games, so it's like, I don't know, whatever. Nathan Drake is busy, is what you're telling me, dude. Yeah, dude, for sure. Uh and no disrespect, no actual disrespect because like I mean, like they do good work, but yeah.

Luke: 6:37

Uh Piano's like a cheerleader for this game. Like he's kind of the soul of the game in a cool way.

Alex: 6:42

Yeah, it is what it works. It's uh Piano, it's it fits his vibe, it fits his aura very well, I would say. Sure, sure. Yeah. All right. So we keep the score, though. I just want to put a little bow on the uh how shitty it was at launch. Sure. Dude. You mentioned unplayable. Dude, you mentioned unplayable. Uh Metacritic scores had it at like 57 on PS4, a user score of 1.9. Like, dude, this game was really not in a good state, except for on PC. And on PC it was like passable, uh, but still not 100%. And over time, though, they made you mention the DLC, the Phantom Liberty DLC. They are officially on Cyberpunk 277 2.0, I think they call it. They like pushed out a 2.0 patch uh a while back before the DLC, and that was like a really big like upgrade to the to the overall base game experience. And that is technically the I'm just playing that version. I don't have the DLC. And so you've been able to dabble in a little bit of the DLC, but but the 2.0 patch is what we basically experienced here.

Luke: 7:47

And there's so much that's added over time. It's pretty funny when I look up stuff about missions, you'll have people be like, well, before this was patched, and they'd be explaining all the broken shit. And then they're like, but since after the patch, it's it's pretty funny to see that like before and after line of demarcation. Uh just in like when I'm because dude, maybe we'll get into this later, but there's a lot of choices to be made, and they're they range from weighty to not, and your boy just has to know. I try to play while I loop free, but uh I couldn't with this game.

Alex: 8:22

I looked into a little bit of stuff too, I won't lie.

Luke: 8:24

Maybe it was like, can I bang Pan Am? May I romance Pan Am.

Alex: 8:31

Oh man, I tried, dude. I tried. Uh we'll get to that in a little bit. Uh, first, so I played on PC. I mentioned that. I I did play it on my PC. Uh I did also play a little bit on the Steam Deck because I was like, you know what? I wonder how it's gonna run on the Steam Deck, and it runs okay. A lot of people play it on there, though.

Luke: 8:48

It's always in some of the top-selling games and top played games on the Steam Deck.

Alex: 8:52

I mean, they've done a good job of uh they've done a good job of optimizing it for it for sure. It's just just you know, it's just so much more beautiful on the PC and Supreme, dude. Yeah, dude. And uh the control scheme, like I just couldn't I couldn't fall in love with the controller control scheme for this game. Like, I really like how the the mouse and keyboard work for it.

Luke: 9:12

Oh man, I played on a controller the whole time because you uh you know gifted it to me on the Xbox, Mark Chris Mish. And or late birthday, one of the two, doesn't matter. And anyway, the controller never felt right. And I know that I probably could have mapped things myself, but I'm like I'm a little weird about that. I kind of like as the developers intended. And uh this game is so funny because it'll immediately which I can get into later, it's not fair, but it immediately reminds you of GTA 4 specifically. And uh so like as easy as if you were playing on a PlayStation controller, which I haven't done in years, but in my mind's eye, Triangle is the top one, right? What is that on an Xbox? Yes. Yes. Um that's how you should get in and out of a car, but they're like, no, we're doing things our way. So like the amount of times I've pressed the wrong button because like other video game mechanics are burned into my skull, like little decisions like that kind of drove me insane. So it's really funny. Like, I can see it being pretty smooth on the keyboard and mouse, but uh overall the game runs really smooth and cool on the controller.

Alex: 10:16

It's nice because it's ripe. There's hotkeys for like, I mean, press I for inventory, J for journal, like you know, C's crouched. C's crouch is pretty standard, but like same with J for journal. Yeah, I suppose. But like right, right. So all that stuff, you know, and so I mean standard PC shit, but like, dude, select on the controller not being map, I still can't get that correct.

Luke: 10:38

Oh, still it goes to like load, save stuff, and I'm a save scar.

Alex: 10:44

So I'm doing that a lot too, but that's not the point. So that's that's a platforms uh you interestingly for the low five bros have not rode credits.

Luke: 10:54

Yeah, um, so I was cooking, I got into a nice rhythm, so I finally burnt down on NCAA football, and then I gave this game a lot of runway, and it took a while for me to gel, like it took a long time for me to get used to all the different systems, how dense everything is, like it's so over stimulating, all the different choices that you have, like with like playstyle, like the obvious stuff that you can think of, like playstyle and gear, but then like with the um the ripper doc stuff and all the different augmentation and the different paths you take and the tree, like it just took me so long, but finally I hit a groove, and then I have the DLC as well, which kind of helps me tangent off because I got to meet me at the Embers and I wasn't ready for the game to end. Sure. So I'm still there, and like I feel like right as I got to that point, I was like fully in the swing of things. Like, for example, I never knew how to take random jobs from fixers. And if you don't know, like if you finish all of a fixer's job, they give you like a premium idea. Right. I didn't know that. Like I was like, damn, so like I would have been doing this a lot of time just to like grind up for money and better gear, but I was just progressing the story because the story's good. It is. So yeah, and now I'm you know, I always make fun of you for never finishing a game and just doing all the end credit stuff and like waiting at the last boss to go fight Ganon, is the metaphor. Yeah, and here I am refusing to meet at the Embers, um, because I don't want to kick off that that end of game sequence, but at least I have the DLC and sweet sweet Idris Alba too. How the tables have turned.

Alex: 12:31

How the turns have tabled. Yes, dog. I do like it. So I mean it's not spoilery at all to say this. I mean, I guess it is in the by essence of it a little bit, but there is a mission, maybe at the Embers, where it's basically a branch. Uh, and you can go to Endgame, it tells you, it says this is a path, and you know, no return or whatever. Uh, do you want to do it? And you can choose to do it, and then it kicks you into the endgame sequence. It's about maybe an hour or two hours worth of gameplay and to to follow the end game. And where I was like, I mean, I do love exactly what you said, like, I don't know, just doing every especially when a game's really when I'm really cooking in a game, I'm like, I'm just gonna keep living in this world. Uh, but for whatever reason, I had the itch to I just wanted to roll credits, I wanted to see it through the end, see the story to the end. And I did. And I would say that anybody, if you have not played this game yet, and you're I mean, do whatever you want. But what I told Luke offline was like, dude, if you want to roll credits, like it doesn't really, like it actually is really nice how they put that in there because you can go ahead and roll credits, and there are multiple endings of this game. Uh, and when you do that, you beat the game, but then it puts you back to that point of no return to continue on the gameplay. Uh, so you can you can approach endgame again and do it differently if you'd like. But the the cool little thing that it does, though, is it gives you a couple unlocks, um, like special endgame unlocks, and you get to also uh have in your inventory a few of the items that you acquired during that endgame sequence. Yes. So basically you get like so you get like you get to keep like the cool shit that you got in your endgame gameplay, but continue to take care of side quests and just live in the world, which is I think a pretty cool way to do it. So I'm saying don't be don't be afraid, brother. Yeah.

Luke: 14:16

Uh for me, it'll be my emotional go back to the game because I heard the actual story part and the beats are pretty emotional and pretty cool, pretty intense closure.

Alex: 14:25

Yeah, I was gonna talk to you a little bit about that stuff, but I do watch you experience that before.

Luke: 14:29

So I think it'll make an excellent side quest um at a future pod, because I'll go back to it. So we're a teaser, dude. Look at me, dude. Professional. Um I gotta know.

Alex: 14:39

I mean, I do know, but let's tell the audience. Nomad, street kid, corpo. Street kid.

Luke: 14:44

And then same, you know what I did. Yeah, um, well, one, fuck the corpos, dude. Two to kind of be a little bit all over the place, but on the same page. I so experience heading into this game. I didn't play this game. You had your little intro where you played it and then you dropped it and kind of thought about it from time to time as the game built itself back up. I watched the Edge Runners uh anime, yeah, which was really cool, was really, really well done, uh, very intense. I gave this game a big influx of of a player base, like over a million, over a million new players because of it.

Alex: 15:19

Yeah.

Luke: 15:20

And a lot of my students like anecdotally, like they'll be like, Oh, what do you play? And I'll be like, uh cyberpunk. Like, oh dude, I watched the anime, and I was like, that's gross for a kid your age, but were but just like the game, I think I'm on like the last two episodes of the anime. I just never so that helped me a little bit with a lot of the lore, the kind of goofy um slang that we've been using. Dude, this is like so dumb. It's like both forced and charming.

Alex: 15:48

Yeah. With like chooms, like, ah, my fucking. I feel like you get used to it. It's a little abrasive, not abrasive in the sense that it's like it's just like why? And then you're like, by the end, you're like, okay.

Luke: 15:57

Yeah. And with the anime, that definitely helped. But like knowing what a net runner was, and like being all gonked out, and what do you call the cyberpsychos, that type of thing, and like how how you can't really put on too much cyberware and hold on to your psyche, like that's all cool stuff from the anime. And then uh first shroud out of the pod, Ace. When I told him I was playing it, he goes, Oh yeah, cool. He goes, Cyberpunk is the um worst great game. So I have had that fairly or unfairly like ruminating in my thoughts and like kind of as a basis for all of my analysis, but to be one of the greatest games, you're up there, right? But it's the worst of the great games. So it's kind of like this backhanded, but like as I played it, I thought about that so much, and I can agree that like if we're talking like premium open world, high-end triple quadruple experiences, this game has just enough jank and frustration in it to hold it down, and they're so close to a lot of things. But you know, I can I can kind of tie that that general theme into my other analysis as we talk about different things in the game. But what do you think about that? Like, it's just a premium, it's the worst of the most premium amazing games.

Alex: 17:20

Yeah, I think that's fair. It's like, you know, you're my least favorite friend, that kind of thing. Like uh, I I like it a lot, but it's like, you know, to give you know, we're probably we'll give a rating later on, but like I it's not for me, it's not a full send. Like, there's definitely things about it that I'm like, hmm, it could be could be cooler or it could be smoother, that kind of stuff. Yeah, uh, but it's still great, like, and I would recommend like it's funny. I was uh uh hanging out with one of the homies not too long ago, and they're asking me very similarly, like what game you're playing? And I'll just like you know, Cyberpunk, and they're like, Oh, cool, like I tried that back in and then I just like bounced off a real hard. Is it worth going back to? And I'm like, 100% it's worth going back to.

Luke: 18:02

Um, I'm like, depends. Do you have people in your house? Do they pay attention to what you're playing? Because if they randomly pay attention and walk in and there's just a screen and there's some ass cheeks in a guy's face and random moanings from commercials, do I hate all that for sure? But is it a great game? Yes.

Alex: 18:20

It's so unnecessary. It's funny that that's just like part of like the aura of Night City, but whatever.

Luke: 18:25

A student was like, I was talking to a student about it, and these are eighth graders. Uh side note, I definitely like in a way can judge a kid's intelligence by what video games they play. Sure, yeah. So if they've like crushed, like I remember back in the day talking to a kid, I'm like, what games do you play? He's like Metal Gear Solid 5. I've beaten it. And I'm like, this kid's sharp. Whereas if you're just like Fortnite, I'm like, all right, yeah, whatever, you're just kidding. Yes, sir. Um, but anyway, he's just like, Yeah, I played that once. I drove around for a little bit and I hated it, and I didn't play it anymore. And I just kind of smiled and I laughed, and then I thought about it. Driving sucks in this game, dude. It does.

Alex: 18:58

You know what though?

Luke: 18:59

And if you're gonna play GTA 5, that's just it. And you drive around in this game. Yeah. You talking about GTA 4 or 5? Um, you and I know that GTA 4 is the superior driving experience, let alone overall.

Alex: 19:13

It's the best driving game in the world, dude.

Luke: 19:14

I thought it might be. I think it just is came out like 20 years ago or 15. But the point I'm making here is that a student of mine wouldn't have really played four, but their their whole life has been five. So, like if you come from five with a cartoony driving feels great. Yeah, the driving in Cyberpunk is stiff.

Alex: 19:32

Yeah, I got used to it, but it's not good.

Luke: 19:34

Of course, it's okay and good. Yeah, yeah.

Alex: 19:36

It's it used to be worse, dude. It used to be worse.

Luke: 19:38

So I'll I'll just put that out there. So there's still times I've seen people like floating in a position where their car should be.

Alex: 19:44

That's just that's just that's just funny to me. I get that. That's like a that's like a bug that I'm like, that's kind of that's like charming in the sense of the cyberpunk world, though.

Luke: 19:51

Yeah, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna butthurt, but it's like it's pretty fucking it is silly.

Alex: 19:55

Uh it's also funny, dude. Like, that's another big bug that uh I did notice that's prevails is uh like just the intelligence of the other drivers or just the shit that happens, like all of a sudden, like you'll just have errant like vehicles just doing crazy shit, but like not in like a normal, like not like this is a uh police chase or something that just happened to be going on.

Luke: 20:16

Like, no, it's just like some random car that's drove in front of you jerked. Yeah. Or when you're doing stealth and you're trying to throw people into the bins and the graphic just doesn't work, and they clip through they just you just throw the dude through the top, and they just transport into the bin. Um we're we're bearing the lead here. How big's your schlong? Oh, tiny uncircumcised, what's up? Usually I think it's a role play that my characters have that, but now to know it as a fact was really empowering to have a tiny uncircumcised penis. It felt really good to slide that dick slider to small. Hell yeah, hell yeah.

Alex: 20:53

I played as Lady Bee, so you know, I'm a hottie. Gross, perv.

Luke: 20:58

Um I mean it was a little bit more. How do you like the Night City aesthetic? How do you like like the augmentation of the people? I it grosses me out. I think it's cool. There's I don't know if a game has cooler world building than this with like all the details they put in everything, but like how do you feel about people having like implants in their face and like all these goofy like metal and all that crazy shit?

Alex: 21:19

It's interesting. That plays into some of the story beats too. Uh, and as you said, with the with the apparently they bring it up in the night runners or whatever. I think it's interesting. I think it works. Like it works for the definitely for the the world building, for like uh, but it is, you know, it's it's interesting. Okay, so what's interesting to me is that when they don't have them, when you have someone like Vic or whatever who like doesn't do implants, yeah. What's that? When they're natty. Right, right. But like you know, so like I think that's uh it's like you get used to it, and then it's almost weird when someone like doesn't have a bunch of implants.

Luke: 21:54

I find it gross, all like the human alteringness of it all, like when they have like the metalness. neck, I'm like, uh and when like someone's supposed to look fine as hell, but they have like all this weird like like roboticness. And I you and I have had debates where you've just been like as soon as we can get the brain implant, dude, they're putting it in me. And then I'm I don't actually feel that way, but yeah, I'd be tempted. Yeah he does. Um but when they like when they sh like shove the like the implants into their necks and stuff, those little disc drives like that stuff feels weird. It grosses me out. But as a video game and as this world that you're living in and the fact that they make you uh the first person view it's really cool and immersive it's like everything's really cool and like yeah just to decide that you can also in this ultra high tech world have swords love that for sure katanas and shit. So the aesthetic arms too dude gorilla arms are dope. I never tried that I went to the mantis blades which kind of creep me out for the same reason because it's this whole idea of these blades popping out of your arm and it's just kind of like ew I don't know gorilla pro tip if you guys are anybody listening is going to do the uh I can't remember what the the mission's called but it's the boxing storyline.

Alex: 23:07

Oh sure you can use gorilla arms that doesn't seem fair. Use the gorilla arms and you'll just you'll just mop the floor with everybody until you get to the final guy and the final guy is still tough so you will have to level up a little bit for the final fight but everybody else gorilla arms does the trick.

Luke: 23:22

Well you know I don't care how over the place I am uh I was very underwhelmed with the gunplay and the combat interesting at first oh this this kind of talks to how I said earlier how long it took me to like properly onboard into this game and become comfortable.

Alex: 23:39

And you're using a controller too though that might be part of it.

Luke: 23:41

Uh no I think what it is is that once I got full comprehension of the systems the upgrades and um the implants how big of a deal that plays in dude so I was talking to my wife's brother and he and his girlfriend both have played the game and anecdotally she spends a ton of her time on the outfits and buying all the stuff and like I never do she find a cool store I can't find any stores that have cool clothes so I just rocked like the same fit she the entire time I just rocked the Johnny Silverhand shit uh because I kind of my fit was fly though like I was looking pretty cool my fit was so fly that I was like I can't change it any of this other garbage.

Alex: 24:17

There we go.

Luke: 24:18

But then Tia's telling me about how sniper rifles are useless in the game. Like what sniper rifles do not and I agree sniper rifles and assault rifles barely feel good but pistols are the most overpowered weapon in the game yeah I mean yeah I like the baller dude and I'm I'm all about how a gun or a weapon feels that's wild though dude my my do you use the I don't agree with that 100% the sniper rifle?

Alex: 24:43

Yeah I never headshot dude like you just take people down like the only bad thing about them is they take a long time to reload but you upgrade that specifically okay maybe I just needed to do more of that but I the pistols and the shotguns and uh a boy yoing advised I go full katana boying and that is when I when I started deflecting bullets with my katana it was that's pretty cool I didn't do any of that's fucking sick dude I love it and the flexibility of the beast though dude buying game I was I was like you become super whatever and I'm dashing and going crazy all over the place so like because I did the reflexes to get really good at the katana so then I'm jumping doing double jumps and like double jump was big too yeah I saw that I saw some YouTube video that was like give me two it was like the 10 things I wish I would have known and I was like alright double jump dude I had like some other cool jump that uh I I got rid of in lieu of the double jump and I was like that was that was the way to go a bunch of early money game on the wrong implant.

Luke: 25:43

That's really funny. So anyway like once you upgrade all this stuff then the gunplay becomes better and the sword play and the combat becomes way more so like you really need to embrace what's unique about the game which is those systems built around the cyberware. Yeah I feel like then I then I think that you become much more into the gameplay and then to briefly jump back to the car and the driving and then I see on your rundown you got the comparisons thing. When you jump into your car and you drive around and you're in Night City you immediately think of Liberty City and GTA 4 and you're like this is the CD Project Reds attempt at a GTA style futuristic game. But the longer I played it the more I realized that it was like obviously it's closer to the Witcher because that's in the same family lineage. Yeah but the game I would compare it the most to is like a newer more polished Fallout so yeah that's a blind spot for me I haven't played any of the Fallouts so a lot of this game like there's just entire missions where you don't do any combat and you're just doing a ton of story and a ton of dialogue and a ton of choice and you have these stealth options and stealth in this fucking game it got better for me as I got super um upgraded but it's it's pretty clunky to say the least um dude you sent that uh always meme or whatever when a gun's blazing that's like a a hundred percent anyway so I started blasting yeah no a hundred percent so I came to a very comfortable conclusion that this feels like a really good evolution of a Fallout game and that if you look at it in that way you're gonna be much more pleased where if you look at it as any type of on the family tree of like an open world rock star game you're gonna be disappointed you know because it's not that and it's not actually maybe at some point in development they were trying to be that but it's pretty clear they weren't trying to be well that was the big promise right so like that was a big promise um in the uh in the marketing in the the role the the the original push of this game was supposed to be like this the city's alive and okay when I first started like not the first playthrough because I started as as uh as like male presenting V or whatever at my first playthrough and then I restarted as uh you know feminine V and I loved it and that was uh kudos to my my boy mustache Nick um who has played in this game probably 10 times by now ridiculous just loves it and like we're talking from like launched until like you know he just loves this game he's put a lot of time in general right yes yes yes on a fiction universe yeah I think so I think it's I can't speak for him there but I I think he's he I mean he digs it for sure but like he was like dude well first of all Nick just always when there's an option plays as you know the the feminine forum of if you have a choice but he was like but this in particular like you gotta do Lady V uh because the voice acting superb and I will say I did really really like the voice acting um you know it's just shame on me romance pan Am not worth it dude I was I was so bummed I didn't know that I didn't think that was made over you and then dude I didn't know that and I looked at I didn't look it up and like I was like laying down game and I was like I think this is I think this is going pretty good like I think this is gonna work out and then you're like oh it doesn't work if you're Lady B. I was like what yeah and I look it up and sure enough I was like oh you gotta be fucking kidding me uh but whatever what it was to say lovey I tried I tried uh but he was but he was like dude you gotta play but to sh my lady bee she she's too she'd be getting it dude is whatever just not from pan a am uh I won't talk about it but I thought it was the most unhinged sex scene I've ever seen in the a video game let alone media and then I remembered that this is CD project red and I've played the Witcher 3 and I went this is just par for the chorus.

Alex: 29:34

These guys are so fucking weird dude dude back to back to the city feeling alive dude it like when I first started playing second playthrough as Lady V, I was like I hit up the Discord and I was like I don't know if I've ever played a game that is like this where the world is this active and there's this much shit going on because there is a lot of stuff but the more I got into it the more time the less I cared about all that and like the less I explored the city like I just drove like dude if you right now if I was playing it and you're like drive to this section like drive drive to Japantown not a chance that I'd be able to do that.

Luke: 30:08

I I don't know what it is I thought about that all the time I never became and I was like is it a mini map problem? Is it a fast travel problem?

Alex: 30:15

I never so I never fast travel I barely I've I have done it but I barely fast travel but I still like dude uh Vice City Liberty City etc for you know to to use uh Grand Theft Auto as a you know I I end up learning those cities but like the back of my hand like but with this one I I seriously if you told me to drive to any map like I would be without the map I would be like I don't know I don't know how to do that.

Luke: 30:42

Yeah I always wondered why I couldn't memorize anything why I couldn't nothing would stick and like the world is so gorgeous and so detailed it's beautiful for sure but I never felt like I familiarized any neighborhood at all.

Alex: 30:57

And and and what I'm saying with like the the like the live part like on its facade like yes but then like it is it deep like it can you explore and like find little weird things going on like or is it or is it kind of a facade?

Luke: 31:12

I think it's a little bit of both I watched a YouTube video once where someone was like if you do those like the police things where you like stop a crime happening he's like a lot of times when you just linger around after the fact like the what do you call those medvac people come in and like sure there's like a whole bunch of like story and if like when watching dump like it's an excellent short form rabbit hole type of game like if you're on TikTok if you're on YouTube whatever it is that you're on people will show all this crazy lore stuff so it's not it's not Red Dead 2 but it's up there. Yeah. No I would say Red Dead is a great example too I'm not getting carried away with like I'm not going fishing. I'm not trying to like play the side quest. I know you can play like different mini games and different stuff in there but I I don't really care for any of that. They got a little arcade cabinet so that's kind of funny I figured you'd be into that um I mean that giant I didn't like go out of my way to play apartments and I'm like I don't know I have all these now and I'm like I don't know what I would do I don't recognize any place well enough to like and even fast travel is like kind of clunky. Like I have to find a fast travel unit to go somewhere else so like I'm just not overly incentivized to get super familiar but right uh what do you think about the first person? Because this that's a big uh departure from the Witcher where you're third person and that was like a big thing when this game was coming out and I'm just curious how that felt recently came out and had some quotes I was reading on Kotaku and basically like because you are kind of going through this experience where you're losing your mind and you have Johnny Silverhand which we're about 40 minutes in and haven't mentioned yet but that's okay we'll get there. Um that whole psychosis and like seeing that in like voice inside your head um it took a little bit while to get used to I think it was the right decision to help you with the immersion but it is still stupid jarring to get out of your car or motorcycle and go into first person and vice versa that felt super weird and it's impossible to drive a car in first person.

Alex: 33:18

Yeah the first person car driving is stupid it's um a noble effort and it's cool to look inside of your car because you know unique shit is in there but it's yeah absolutely bonkers you ever get around to the radio stations you ever you ever find a favorite early early gameplay I was like this is tight and uh I found the jazz station and I was really digging it uh by the end of my playthrough I turned the radio off okay I'm like this stuff sucks and I wasn't like what's crazy is I wasn't like listening this is not a game it's not bad podcasts or anything but it's not like you know once again the sound design this game is great dude like the and nothing like I'm not super knocking the music like it's fine but like it actually the reason I turned it off is because all the other sounds in the world going on are actually more fun and immersive I thought than the music. And it's interesting because you can like because of the cyberpunk world and you can actually keep your radio on as you walk around which I thought was like fun at first but eventually I was like I prefer hearing some of the things that like I was saying that maybe weren't existent but I guess maybe it's a subversive that's just a part of it now. But you know like hearing all the different sound design stuff it's it's one of the best like in terms of sound design I think this is one of the best games to do it.

Luke: 34:28

They nail a lot of the particulars although on the controller it drives me nuts a handbrake is usually R1 on a controller and that's how you control the radio wheels so the times I tried to slam and hit a corner and just turned a radio station was infuriating. I feel that I feel that um uh well dude you want to should we jump into story a little bit uh we'll we'll drop some spoilers here so folks that uh don't want to hear any story stuff yeah it'll be late we won't and Luke hasn't even finished so I can't even really spoil it for you no we're just gonna talk about um some story beats some story beats check the chapters check the chapters if you want to skip ahead folks a word um you don't know what love is until you've learned the meaning of the blue until you've loved the love you've had the loo so what I want like I just think that the the story focus of the game it's well written it's really cool a lot of the side quests similar um not quite as the same peaks of the Witcher but like some of the side quests are extremely cool I found Johnny Silverhand incredibly endearing after some time I loved his character and like I was so you know that you can that his like the way that he treats you and the way that you treat him like you can that can like uh it has it has a flow to it or whatever.

Alex: 36:02

So like if you're a real dick to him and abrasive to him then he will like that's how he will talk to you and like or you can be kind of chums by the end.

Luke: 36:09

We did become chooms you were right there yeah chooms that's right there dude um yeah we were cool and then like I'm an I'm unlocking his because the game definitely follows a format where you run into different characters in a mission and then they basically have an arc that's that's nothing new to any type of RPG. But these characters you know from Pan Am to Judy to River his name's River isn't it River Phoenix or something like that the cop guy River Ward. River Ward yeah yeah like all of them and like getting to know their backstory and doing their missions is all very gratifying and very cool. I thought that was excellently well done and then kind of doing the same with Silverhand and his crew and his band I loved the band dude I'm a little bit of an like not like a good music nerd but I'm a pretty big music nerd. Like I don't actually know shit about music but I liked a lot of the lore building they did around samurai his band.

Alex: 37:03

Oh sure like did you probably learn more about that than I did. I definitely got some of the backstory in that or whatever but I like just like when he was beefing with the band and that kind of stuff but I don't know if I've got all the story you're talking about.

Luke: 37:15

Judy or you're talking to somebody and they're just like everybody knows like samurai was over after their first album. Like it sucked and they're washed up and I was like hell yeah and I loved like the rocker thing was a little annoying at times but like I just thought it was like really cool flavor and then I'm currently in the middle of we're doing like a one last gig thing where like you know because Johnny we're not is this DLC stuff or is this part of the main line? I wonder it's a great question but I think it's part of the main line no you like go to your buddy's mansion like one of the surviving ones and he's like they kind of allude to the fact that he's like a little bit of a sellout but also like I don't know just got really rich and just whatever you play a song and then he's like only Johnny fucking Silverhand would play it like that. And I was like I just thought that was really fucking cool and I was in a groove that day and I was like so I just found like I thought he was annoying as hell and he is super abrasive. He's a shitty person but the way they do his character overtime I thought was pretty neat and I liked leaning into the role play of like getting along with him and just like fuck the corpos and all that for sure.

Alex: 38:24

For those that are listening that have not played there is a biochip that there's a heist with your homie R.I.P. What the hell's his name again? Jackie it's been so long all right I'm sorry Jackie I'm sorry sweet boy Jackie uh but you like go on a heist with Jackie uh basically it goes sour like things things don't go as planned uh Jackie ends up unfortunately dying but you it's this biochip and the biochip has the psyche of Johnny Silverhand like the data of his like soul basically is on this chip that's called you or something and yeah so you take it in but it basically it's like a virus at this point where like his also keeps you alive. You were murdered right so you die too right but then it like it brings you back to life and basically it's like becomes intertwined with your own body and your own psyche and it's trying to take over and it's trying to get rid of V it's like a a virus of sorts. So that's like that that's like the basis of the game is trying to figure out how to take Johnny Silverhand out of you. And you like you know so you like are that's pretty much your main goal and by the end I guess you'll find out what happens yeah but but that's like the main thing but I think it's interesting you bring up some of these side quests because I will say in this game like the side quests feel very main questy. Like they are heavy side quests. Like they're very story driven they are impactful to like the the storyline and to understanding this world uh there's great character development like you brought up Pan Am earlier like I started following the pen then like what's really cool about this is it's like this plays it like how you treat these folks and like and how much you interact with them also has impact in how your end game is going to play out because it gives you certain decisions on on how the end game's gonna work for you. So that's really cool too but it's it's interesting yeah and it's it's interesting as well like to use the example of Pan Am uh in her group the Elver Alderc the Aldercados right Alder Yeah Aldercados something like that yeah anyways it's like these outlaws that live on the side of town outside of town right um but it's interesting because like you are role playing but like when you lose Jackie it's you kind of get to decide like are you like are you gonna become friends with with Pan Am is that even something you want do you want to become friends with Judy are you going to be cold are you going to be like a lone wolf like these are all the decisions you kind of get to make as you role play and I think it's really interesting like you know and also your your relationship with Night City like you know I think the Jackie and V, the the main big thing throughout is like we want to be like their like dream is to become legends. Yeah make it big and become legends of Night City and by the end it's interesting because you is that what is that what you do or do you or do your uh aspirations shift over time you know and there's even like that original botched mission if you're like oh spoiler it's like that's all part of that 10 hour right beginning thing and all these decisions you make early on kind of do play out later in the game so it's both really cool but as we've discussed in the past it's kind of impossible for me not to know the outcomes of multiple decisions especially when loose small decisions in this game have big weight in that like it's cool but it's like dude there's some things like for instance like I didn't think but uh what's the name of the homie the Arasaka homie like the so during the first mission not the first like big mission with Jackie the the guard that like ends up being blamed for the assassination or whatever and you what's his name I forget but it's part of the Arasaka he's like the first he's like the first arc I went through and it didn't end up whatever so that's a that's a storyline I tied off. Did you save him or not? I don't think I could you can see it that's one of the main decisions in this game so like but you wouldn't know it's so hidden so like you're in this mission where and you fall through a like a a floor or whatever right and then Johnny's like come on we gotta go like he's lost and I was like so I and I was like okay like everything's like falling apart around you and you just get up I was just follow Johnny and I was like okay and then I was like you know I progress into the next scene and the next part of the goes into chapter like uh whatever part three or whatever and then I was just curious I was like can you save that dude like is he and then sure enough if you don't listen to Johnny and you go up like to the staircase to the left you can go up and save him you have like a gunfight and then you have to like and but like so it's not like that big of a deal but uh but it kind of is depending on what kind of ending you're looking for the game. Damn I did. Well dude that's just it so like I'd I like I wasn't too far ahead and I I liked him so I wasn't too far ahead where I was like okay I'm just gonna go back and redo that because so I did so like that was one of my my save scummy like things that I did but I was like dude that sucks like I didn't know that I had the option because it it was very like sometimes it's pretty obvious that a choice that you're making is going to have like some impact but this like the game very much is like encouraging you to just run after like to get the fuck out of there.

Luke: 43:36

Well that's funny it's the game like and how you can it's like the whole like classic like a game has this pending doom that you need to address but then you're like let me just go ahead and side quest for like 30 hours. So decisions like that kind of piss me off because I'm like the game's like go go go and I thought like it's part of a set piece and like it felt dude it felt like you should be running the hell out of there like it was going to collapse on you. Get rid of that horrible Order gene inside of you when you're playing games and you're constantly rooting and looking around and trying to get every little last piece of loot in case of the FOMO of missing out on the loot. But then I'm like, this isn't how the game should play out. So that's really funny. But you know what? That's all right.

Alex: 44:14

There's also a few different like I'm I'm trying not to spoil it too much for you and the fans here, but like there's some there's some time stuff and like uh skill-based stuff in the end game that if you don't do certain things in within a certain amount of time, or if you allow like too many enemies to rush, they will affect it. This is also if you choose to like have people come help you or whatever, but like it like it affects their their life outcomes. Like you can have people die off, you know. Like it's that's and I think that's like an it leans and it like goes back into how cool I think it is that branch point that you know the point of no return, because like I will go back and play the end game again because I want to see how the different endings pan out.

Luke: 44:56

Yeah, I think I would get afraid of being too anal about getting a perfect outcome, and that would further halt my desire.

Alex: 45:03

Well, see, I ran I ran through it though. So then like that's a that's valid because that's usually how I I am. But it's interesting because I think it's such a good the gameplay of it all and everything and the story combined. Like normally I would finish, and if there's multiple end games, I'd be like, okay, I'll just hit up YouTube and see what else like I could have done. Yeah, but this I like I want I the little things like of who's who survives, like a lot of that stuff, like it doesn't really matter um as far as the end game goes. But like, you know, so like there are some things if you want to like be absolutely perfect, like yeah, that might suck. But like uh, but no, I think it's interesting, and I think it's like I'll definitely go back and try and do a couple different choices and maybe have a slightly cleaner battles in a couple areas, but but yeah, it's cool. So then I think that's a cool thing about the end game because it's also it's fun, it's fun enough and long enough, and like there's enough meat on it where finishing and going back to do it again is very enticing versus like well, I wonder what the other end scenes were like. True.

Luke: 46:01

Um, before we're done, I just have to have my final gripe. The cell phone fucking sucks balls, dude. It's 2077. We got this shitty ass cell phone that's always ringing, and like I'm waiting for people to reach. Text messages, dude. The texts are so bad. Like, you see the other character texting, and I'm like, Can you just can we hurry this up? I would like to just move on to what I was doing. And it like feels like you gotta answer them. I'm like, oh, this is the worst. Or the system where uh fixers call you when you enter their territory, but you have no idea what's going on because you just got booted into the game, and you're like, Why is everyone calling me? How do they all know me? And they're like, come work for me, come do this. And I'm like, I'm so confused. I'm just trying to track down a sentient cab company.

Alex: 46:45

Uh, what did you think of uh Delman or whatever his name is? Delman, yeah. Delmane, I liked it. I thought that was fun. I like that stuff.

Luke: 46:58

It's really funny because I wasn't able to do I wasn't able to pass the skill check for like the ending I wanted, so I respected and I didn't know that you only get one respec in the game, and I respect oh no, you're talking about fucking stupid, so like yeah, I had to live with that.

Alex: 47:17

Del main that's clowning. I Delmain was uh a freedom as well. Um there was something that I did around it that like I wish I would have done it a little bit cleaner. Can't remember what it is, but um, but anyways, it's it was fine. That's a I was like pretty decent about this game of just letting it go. Like a lot of times I want to like I'm always going for perfection, but like I was pretty decent about being like whatever.

Luke: 47:40

Sometimes when you fuck up a mission, there isn't like a restart unless you had a safe spot. They're just like, sorry, dude, I guess you got third place in this competition.

Alex: 47:46

I was like, that's it, dude. You did the all the racing, I did all the racing ones. That was another one that I was like, I would have done slightly differently for a better outcome in the sense of I could have had two vehicles. Well, there's two. Yeah, so like you get the main vehicle, the beast or whatever they call it, um, basically for completing the that story arc. Uh, if you so I followed this mission, I can't sorry, it's just great podcasting, but I can't remember the name of uh the person that you're you're racing with, but their story is that their partner was like murdered in a race and basically out for revenge. So you're like the new uh driver, and you do all these races, uh, and they're fun and it's cool. But like I leaned into the revenge aspect of it where I was like, Yeah, let's go give I'm out for blood. I'm gonna help you, girl. Like, let's let's let's do this. Uh if you don't do that and you push her towards having some like being not okay, basically like against the revenge arc, then the person that she ends up murdering uh will call you later, thank you, and like give you his car.

Luke: 48:56

Weird, because I saved him. We didn't kill him. Oh, really? And you didn't get his car? Not yet. I mean, not that I remember, but sometimes I'm just like I'm a little bit.

Alex: 49:06

You probably gotta probably like answer a text or something.

Luke: 49:08

Yeah, or some other dumb shit. Like sometimes you get a little lost.

Alex: 49:12

Oh, you what a what a nice little heart you have. You you had uh you saved the man. I was like, it wasn't his fault. She was fucking tripping, dude. Yeah, but you know, so I was just like revenge. Get your revenge. Yeah, sure. I was all down for blood.

Luke: 49:27

I was like, I don't give a fuck.

Alex: 49:28

I mean, V out here, like I kind of was like on a revenge trip like the entire game myself. So I was like, why am I gonna act like uh which is like a departure from my maybe I'm changing, dude. Maybe Culture Lamb broke me. So you made people eat poo. I was I made that too. I made them eat poo there. Yeah.

Luke: 49:46

Alright, well, would you like to give us your rating? What are you giving it? Yeah, dog. I'm gonna give this how many cyberware attachments out of five.

Alex: 49:54

Give this four out of five cyber attachments, four out of five trips to the afterlife, four out of five relic glitches.

Luke: 50:02

It's a four out of five for me, brother. I kept in mind a lot, like I said earlier, the the uh greatest or the worst great game. So I was like, that's like an eight, but I think it's actually closer to like an eight point five, so like a four point two five. Um I mean, especially with the DLC, like I'm just really into it, and it's really cool. And I think the world building is unparalleled, and I think looking at it more of a fallout like than a GTA like goes a long way. Sure. There's some imperfect things, but Jesus Christ, dude, if they come out with which they are working on a cyberpunk too, but these days, whenever a game's announced, I'm like, I don't know if I'll be seeing a decade. Maybe my kids will be playing it when they're in high school when it drops, versus me actually being able to play it.

Alex: 50:49

Um I just I mean, I'm what would that just similar world or something? Like, I don't really think that this story continues, so what would two be?

Luke: 50:58

Yeah, I don't know. I mean Cyberpunk. I mean I guess there's owners has some overlapping characters like Adam Smasher or whatever, but like um you know, they've built this universe and it'd just be pretty fucking sick. So I think it's awesome. I would recommend it to any open world fan. Uh I would say stay patient. And some of the advice that I took, which is lean into certain type of builds as far as pistols or katanas, and uh really embrace the cyberware as soon as possible. Cyberware is key. And that'll like for the combat piece of it, that'll make the game so much better.

Alex: 51:33

Yeah, dude, four out of five, and I would recommend this to any anybody, anybody that's uh intrigued, any gamer. I think it's approachable, I don't think it's too hard. I think I think it's a great story. Uh I just don't know if it's gonna like crack my like top ten of all time. But uh evergrowing top ten can't. But yeah, I mean, I mean, like, you know, it'll be part of the conversation. I just don't know if it's in there.

Luke: 51:58

If we're talking like top ten open worlds, maybe it gets in there. Oh, yeah. For just games, it's like no. But it's right, right, right. It's really awesome. So oh word, brother.

Alex: 52:08

Let's take a little break. Let's uh let's tap out of the I don't know. I don't got any cyberpunk left in me. He's too gonked, dude. I'm too gonked. Uh let's take a little break. Come back with some side quests.

Luke: 52:38

This month, dude, we're brought to you by fake patriotism for the fucking Olympics. Alright. We don't get to compete against Russia because they were kicked out, but like, I'm still pretending that we're destroying Russia right now. Aren't they like competing against Georgia or something though? Um I wouldn't be surprised if there was some level of chicanery there, but um Georgia's not crushing anything out of nowhere. They're just kind of good at their random stuff that you would expect Georgia to be okay at, but like there's not an amazing Georgian hockey team or some sick Georgians. So I was watching uh ladies and men's big air snowboarding dude. I love to be a fake snowboarding fan once every four years. I fucking love it, dude. Nice, big, big winter Olympics guy.

Alex: 53:24

I love snowboarding is great. Love Summer Olympics.

Luke: 53:28

Huh?

Alex: 53:28

I'm kinda I'm I kinda like like the Summer Olympics more, but that's because I'm a big basketball dude. That said, I can get into the Winter Olympics, man.

Luke: 53:37

Uh summer basketball is dumb, they're just the Avengers, and it's getting a bit more. The Avengers tight. Or not a great, not a great take to be like Avengers later, dude. But my point is is that the Winter Olympics is just the nonsense of it all is so spectacular. R.I.P. Lindsay Vaughn. Jeez. No doubt, no doubt. Um I have questions as why the Japanese have become so dominant at snowboarding. What's up with that? But I love it. It's awesome.

Alex: 54:07

You remember 1080 snowboarding?

Luke: 54:08

Yeah.

Alex: 54:09

Ken, whatever his name is. Like, dude, Japanese has always been good.

Luke: 54:13

I know. Uh one of my favorite Olympic memories ever was 2018. Um, I want to say that was in Korea, South Korea, but I could be wrong. Sean White got his last gold in the half pipe. He's going toe-to-toe with his young up-and-comer Japanese um Hiroto, I believe. And low-key, bro, got robbed, and Sean White won. But it was really epic and really awesome to watch. And I love to pretend to be an American. I am an American, but I love to pretend to be super happy about it during just the Olympics, dude. This was like 2022, I want to say. No, it was 18, because I was like really tripping on it, and I was thinking about it the other day. And the the guy he beat Sean White did compete though in 2022. Word. Um, his last gold, and it was like super epic because he was like kind of old at that point. Uh and the guy got his um, and then I'm really excited to watch him this year, too. But I loved watching the big air, got the little boys watching big air. You got little biggie, you got little biggie you watching figure skating. You didn't know he's starting to watch the biggest figure skater. He's gonna be like six foot four, throwing his partner all over town, dude. It's gonna be sweet.

Alex: 55:20

100%, bro. It's funny, yeah. Ready to live on the ice, dude. Uh, just like the Summer Olympics. Now he's obviously two years old. Because he would have been at a show, man. That's time flies, man.

Luke: 55:30

He does not remember the Summer Olympics, brother.

Alex: 55:32

No, I know, but we were like watching some Summer Olympics, like, you know, and he was I guess he was around. Like, uh, but yeah, no, for sure. It's funny he asks for the Olympics now because we we watched some of the events with him. Uh, we tried like I can't remember the first, I think maybe Anna was like kicked him off on on this the figure skating. We're like, we're gonna watch Olympics, and it's it's fascinating. It's like, dude, the figure skating is nuts, it's wild what those what those athletes are doing, man, twirling each other around, spinning around on ice. Kidding? I can barely walk on ice, brother. Uh, but it's funny because we're doing that, and then it's like, you know, it's like you want to like not just be vegging in front of the TV. So it's like, oh, that's like he's he's one was intrigued by what was happening. You got cool music going, like this beatable like synchronization, everything going on, and that's like, well, let's have some fun. So I like we we pick them, we like stand up and we kind of spin them around, like twirl them around or whatever. He thought that was great, big old smile. Then what then my wife did and made the mistake of picking him up, putting him around the shoulders to round, like doing a bunch of twirls. Loves it.

Luke: 56:31

So they like you know, apparently kids love that kind of thing.

Alex: 56:34

Dude, for sure. Uh, but you know, so that was like he instantly is like just that was the you know, and then we're like, well, let's watch, you know, we're gonna watch some snowboarding or some whatever. And we switched it, and he was like, Olympics, and we're like, Yeah, this is more Olympics. He's like, Olympics, and we're like, Yeah, no, this is this is like still Olympics. He's like, I wow Olympics. We're like, okay, we'll go back to uh figure skating, bro. Uh he is he's starting to branch out though. He's starting to branch out, so he uh there was a solid day or two there where only ice skating, which you know, respect. Um, but now he uh he is he's for what I think because they're so fast, he's been enjoying some of the luge.

Luke: 57:14

Louge is wild, but like I love it when they slow-mo and they're not like fat, but they're slow-mowing so hard, you just see like the jiggle in the body. So it makes me mildly uncomfortable, but mostly entertained. You heard about peniscape, bro? No, was it the same pole walter?

Alex: 57:29

He's just in luge now. No, I wish uh so it's the male skiers are injecting their penises with like some sort of thing that makes them fatter. So like hot. No, that like the thing is it doesn't make them longer, so it's just like you just get like fat dick. Um, but because of that, they have to tailor their suits to like be bigger. Okay, but I'm telling you, so like because of that, they can't be because of rules around like uh like what I don't know, unlimited rules. They basically have to like give you more girth on on your your outfit so that it's not too tight. Uh and therefore it adds you can get it's like you know, it's weird sports analytics shit, but like, and because you have that extra like fabric, it's like more wind resistance and like you can catch you can like like more air, like fucking you can like catch more air or whatever. It's weird, man. So I'll look it up, penis.

Luke: 58:28

Everybody know I'm just looking at skiers, dude.

Alex: 58:32

That's a thing that's going on.

Luke: 58:33

The whole internet's talking about. How about the couples ice skating? Like, presuming that they're hetero, are they a lot? Like, how would you not be a couple at that point? It's so passionate. There are a lot of couples. I know, but like imagine like your fiance is like, This is my partner. Luke's like Luke's like, now kiss. Honestly, though, they're so intense and like it's so low-key romantic that if they're not in like, you know, literally in a like, I just imagine like your girlfriend was just like, Why are you not? This is my life. I've been doing this since I was a three. And I was like, Why does Steve have to be hot? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Perfect hair, and he's clearly ripped, and I see the way he tosses you around. Like, I just I like to think of the toxic males and uh dude, just tonight, just tonight.

Alex: 59:18

Just tonight, and I was watching some uh figure skating. She's like, You could probably turn me around like that, right? And I was like, She's like, I just watched three, four dudes do that. You should be able to do it too. And I was like, Yeah, maybe we could we could do that, but I I haven't seen you out there practicing, so I can't, you gotta be, you know, before I throw you around, I gotta make sure that you're you're good on the ice. I'm gonna need to too.

Luke: 59:38

I'm gonna throw out my back. Um, forever, I know it's a meme, but we're you know, this household is forever in uh favor of throwing a control out there. Like, I just want one random ass. Like they can even be like a reasonably skilled person, like you know what I mean, like doing it just so you can really like the luge. I want to just send some motherfucker down there so you can see their face. Those guys are like a regular person. Oh, word, see how insane everything is a control subject, so you can see how insane this feat is. Um, but big snowboard, I love the snowboard. Um god, so the Olympics, uh it's just another thing, too, is that in the summertime you have things to do you got outside. We're we're Midwesterners cooped up in our houses. We're we're happy about the balmy 38 degrees it was today. That was a win for us. So, like as a teacher who teaches his brains out, dude, I'm working so hard all the time. I wasn't watching snowboarding while my kids were reading today, that would be bad teaching. I don't throw that up on the big screen so we can all not pay attention to me and watch them snowboarding, that would be bad teaching, but it's tight, it's a good community.

Alex: 1:00:47

So I just how do you feel about getting all that shit on stream?

Luke: 1:00:51

Um, you have more choice. And um it's it's wonky, like Peacock doesn't work perfectly, but um you know, I've just yeah, I just love Winter Olympics. I think just because of the time of the year and like it feels like Midwest to Colorado, although I'm sure a bunch of them are actually from California. Like it's just kind of cool to see like when they say where the person's from a lot of times, it's like from here or neighboring states, and it's just you know, Minnesota got hella Olympians, man. Uh curling hockey, yeah, uh skiing. Y'all have nice weather, we get to get weirdly proud of the winter Olympics, that's our thing. A hundred percent.

Alex: 1:01:32

So I was telling you this off mic, but uh, I am nostalgic for times of old, be pre-internet, pre pre-Olympics in your pocket, pre like waking up and just knowing who won all the medals and stuff. Because there's something magical about the because you know, when it's being held across the world. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, so like I would have been 20, what did I tell you, 2000 when was this? When uh four, oh one. Was that crazy? I am talking about Michelle Kwan. But dude, I'll never forget that though. It was because of that. Our sister was super that was like 98. Dude, our sister was I it was 98, you are correct. So like our sister was super into ice skating at the time, and we're all like kind of low-key, like, I mean, whatever, Ellie, but yeah, sure, we watched that shit. Yeah, because of the stuff. We watched the girly thing, but like low-key and like flip her out. Uh yeah, but we're watching this. Is uh it's not a spoiler because 1998, yes, but Michelle Kwan was she took the silver, right? And everybody was like really like a lot of national pride, a lot of the people stoked. Like she was she was destined for gold. And our whole household was really wanting it, uh, because Ellie really wanted it. And and you know, therefore, like, yeah, like gas her up, gas up Michelle Kwan. This is dope. And she was amazing, dude. Like, she was an amazing fish, she's an amazing figure skater, and uh she did take the silver, but then we find out later, after she got the silver, our dad, who was watching it with us, had a he had his poker face on the whole time because his homie worked for the Star Tribune, uh, which is, you know, for the folks who don't know, one of the biggest papers in the nation, but whatever. But anyway, so he had the he had the line. Yeah, it's like number five or something, or two or three, five, I don't remember. Um, but anyways, like he had the line, like, because uh his buddy Pat like basically got the call, or someone on his team rather got the call and was like, hey, this is what happened. So they they printed all the papers. The morning paper came out, and like uh so that he knew he knew the whole time. He had to pretend that he didn't know that it was a big upset and uh she took the silver.

Luke: 1:03:31

So you could watch the replays now, you can watch replays um because my job allows it, kind of. And Italy, like it starts at like eight to nine in the morning, and then you know the last big events seem to start at like 1 40 to 2 o'clock, and it's like clearly nighttime there, so it's not the worst. It's like a little bit harder when it's in places like China or a little bit further east from where we are, or I guess west, depending on where you want to start, but from the time zones. So it's been a good time. It's been a good thing to do in the middle or early of the day, uh, especially when you got young kids that are waking you up at the ass crack of dawn. By the time nine o'clock, ten o'clock rolls around, you're like pretty pumped to watch some stuff, and uh you know, they watch it for a little bit, they're into it, and uh hopefully I can get them into snowboarding when they're older. Because hell yeah, dude.

Alex: 1:04:20

I can dig it. Brought to you in part unofficially by half-ass patriotism. Half-ass patriotism convenient patriotism games. United States needs to go sit in the corner and figure some shit out, but hey man, I'm still here for the Olympics. I can teach you a lot about other countries too. Sure. You've been side questing, brother?

Luke: 1:04:53

Yeah, dude. Um, this has become a yearly tradition, but Foundation had a giant quality of life uh update. I think I've put like 20 to 30 hours into it or something gross. If you've been listening to our prior pods over the last five, six years, you know I got this game a long, long time ago. It helped spark a lot of my uh thoughts and uh enthusiasm on my education project. Just the quickest little thing is it's an organic city builder. So the citizens make their own paths, they gotta meet their needs. You kind of just plop buildings in some other zones, just kind of vibes from there. I took some screenshots the other day, I'll throw that on the Discord. Where does that go in the general chat? Where do you think I should plop those dude? Yeah, general chat. There we go. So I was doing side question. We have a side question channel. Put it in there. Oh, all right, hell yeah, I'll put it in there. Um, and then since we've been doing this, we've been putting off cyberpunk, getting in the weeds for so long. I feel like I have to try to recall all my different side quests. So, um ball x pit. That's fucking sweet. Um, very arcadey, very fun. If you've ever played like ball break, uh And then there's uh there's a base roguelight um aspect to it on both ends. You have like the arcadey gameplay, and then you upgrade your guy and you have a run, and then you have your top base building, and then you do almost like a ball break to help you build buildings. Uh you see it once and you get it, but it's weird to describe, and people have tried to describe it to me. Um and then so that was a big one, and then Carto finally busted that one. That was a gift from Ace. Booyoing, but it's very map focused and very odd. Oh, I've got Cardo. Yeah, it like lives on everybody's wish list, and eventually you get it, and then you're like, oh, I'll pick up Cardo. And it, you know, it's extremely pleasant and fun. It is fun. I've got uh about two or three hours into it. It's it's um I haven't mastered it yet, but it's just it's very relaxing, very cool, very kind of a nice little playful romp. It like pushes into the lo-fi realm a little bit. Well, it's such a cutesy aesthetic, and it's not urgent, so it's very puzzly. Or I guess cozy. Yeah, cozy is what what the gamers would say. And then I'm trying to think. I mean, um, you know, you gave me, I'm trying to think if I talked about this on the last pod. What was the last pod we did? When was that?

Alex: 1:07:16

Uh well we did the gift guide. Yeah.

Luke: 1:07:20

And then before that was cult, I believe. So you gave me uh Steam Deck Dock, which is a fun phrase. Steam Deck Dock. And that's been fun to play around with.

Alex: 1:07:30

Hollow Knight and Silk Song was actually the word.

Luke: 1:07:36

Well, the Steam Deck Dock has been a fun toy. Oh nice. And that's been cool. I played uh Cardboard Town, which is another weird game that only I play. Kind of like a puzzly competitive city builder. Got about 10 hours into that one. That was it's funny to get a dock and then to play a game that's no need of a dock, but it was just very fun and relaxing. So yeah, those are uh that's my abbreviated. You know, I could go on many foundation rants because it consumes far too much time. But um, you'll just see how sick my fucking screenshots are, and you're like, damn, I should play that game. Fucking dig it. Join the Discord folks.

Alex: 1:08:17

Yes, invite in the show notes or head to our website and you can check out Luke's screenshots, which he never took any screenshots of Cyberpunk, so I have no idea what his experience was like. But whatever. It's great. Yeah, dude. I haven't uh my side quests are as far as video games, uh, pretty pretty short, not doing too many different ones when I'm gaming. I've been playing Cyberpunk. You know, I always get a little bit of tetracy when I'm like looking to this first something mindless on my Game Boy or whatever. But I did, I had like I finished Cyberpunk and I was like, okay, I'm not gonna have time to fully engage with this game if I start playing anything else, but now's the time to just give it a little taste, give it a little taste. And that game is Metal Gear Solid Delta or Snake Eater. Oh, okay. It's not a remake. All the Metal Gear Solid is very confusing. I think that's what the triangle is. I think that's for Delta or whatever. But, anyways, it is a remake of uh I think four or something like that. What are you playing it on? No, three, it's definitely not. It's a remake, it's a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3. Alright. Okay. But I'm playing it on the Xbox Series X. I got it on like a suite, I got it for like 20 bucks. That was like a really nice deal. Oh word. Um, and I was like, you know what? I've always been Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear curious. I did have Metal Gear Solid 4, which is PS4, correct?

Luke: 1:09:43

You are such a closet stealth gamer. It's kind of funny.

Alex: 1:09:46

Dude, in a different way where you had way more time on your hands if you could be super into stealth gaming. Well, dude, Hitman is fucking dope. Like, I love Hitman. Yeah, uh, there's like Commandos, if you remember that game way back in the day, like that had some stealth elements um for sure. Uh so like I've been it's been around, but like I've I've always been like Metal Gear Q Metal Gear Curious, and I don't know, dude. I like I played for maybe an hour, two hours the other night. And I don't know if it's for me.

Luke: 1:10:20

It's if you were a high schooler, it'd be we had the PlayStation 3, and I don't know if you were coming or going or what your deal was, but I think you watched me play Metal Gear 4 a little bit, and that game was fucking bonkers. And once upon a time, I would have told you it was one of the best games I've ever played, but I'm definitely not definitely not going back. And then I played five for a while post-college when I was younger in my career. Um, and you'd get like 40 minutes into a mission, and then you'd your last checkpoint would be 40 minutes ago, and I was like, There's no part of my life that's okay with this anymore. There's just there's there's nothing.

Alex: 1:10:54

So, like well, my thing, dude is like that. This game is beautiful, like it's a remake, and it's like and they've redone the control scheme for like uh for modern controls, which is supposed to be a nice quality of life deal. But like, you know, power to Kojima, but like I don't give a sh I don't I don't care. Like, like, dude, don't this cutscene is not good enough for me to have my attention for 45 minutes, bro. And then it give me Kojima, yeah, dude. And the thing is, like, I'm I'm I don't know, man. It's just like it's not I'm not even anti-like sign up for a movie. Like, I'm cool with that, and it's not even that it's necessarily bad, it's just that the the small snippets of gameplay that it does give me are dumb. Like, I I guarantee you the game gets better, but like to play to do this for two hours, have 75 to 80 percent of it be probably more to be honest, percentage-wise, be like lore, storyline, and cutscenes, like a mixture of non-gameplay stuff. Uh, sometimes just a still like screen with um like you know, just like uh characters talking, and it's all it's all okay, like it is, but like, dude, the and then the actual gameplay part of it to like just be not super engaging. I was like, I can't, I don't know, but I don't know if I got the time for this.

Luke: 1:12:09

That's uh what killed me with Death Stranding. My buddy gave me a copy and it was cool, but it took so long to get past the opening movie.

Alex: 1:12:18

But Death Stranding, like at least it, but at least like I don't know, there was something about like running around and walking around that I was like, okay, where this like when I finally got to do some gameplay, I was like, I gotta sneak around these guys, and like I don't know, it's tough. I just I was just like, whatever. It's tough. So that was that was a little mini side quest. Uh we just had a big, well, I don't know how big we had a decent sized trade for the Timberwolves. Timberwolves considered continue to be a side quest for me, just watching the pups. Uh, but you know, my my love for 2K, I actually have not been playing 2K too much, but I always like whenever there's a big trade, especially on our team, the Wolves or whatever, I like to I like to jump in and kind of see what's going on with the flavor, the new players. Uh, and it was fun, dude. I uh I played some, I got AO in there. I didn't have him start or anything, but I did have him tie the NBA record for three points made in the game. So I was like, this guy could be okay. Put me in, coach. Yeah. Uh another big major side quest, I guess. Major, I don't know, but another side quest. Um, went to the movies, brother. What'd you see? Went to the went to the actual movie theater and we saw uh we saw Marty Supreme. Oh, is it cool? It was pretty cool. It's uh it's fun, man. It's it's stressful. It's definitely not like a it's definitely got a tense vibe throughout.

Luke: 1:13:38

Um Timothy does a great job though until the Oscar push, and I'm still deeply confused about what's going on, but Timothy is cool.

Alex: 1:13:48

It's fun. It's like uh do you remember? I can't remember if there's an actual correlation, but did you ever see like Uncut Gems?

Luke: 1:13:55

Yes.

Alex: 1:13:56

So it's got like Uncut Gems energy, where it's like it's kind of high stakes, kinda it just like doesn't really stop. Um, but it's good, and it's like there are some funny things, but it's it's not ulcer. A little bit, a little bit for sure, for sure. Um, but yeah, uh Marty Mauser is um is Timothy's character, but it was fun to go see that. Um and you know, get stoked up on the is it based on anything real? Uh-huh. Yeah, so Marty Mauser is uh 1950s New York ping pong hustler. But I think Marty Riseman is the name of the actual guy. I don't fucking know. So it's like it's based, it's like fictional, but it's based on a true, so it's like it's definitely not like a true story by any means, but it's based on a true story. So there's uh there's elements of truth laced throughout.

Luke: 1:14:48

I love that like he's like, I've been trading for this movie for all these years, learning ping pong. So like his life is just like this is my learning to play guitar like Bob Dylan phase, and now this is my I'm an extreme ping pong player phase, and I'm like, damn. It is good. Yeah.

Alex: 1:15:06

So those are those are the side quests, man. Those are the side quests. Love it. Love it.

Luke: 1:15:12

Well fellow tune, before we get too gaunked out, that was a good time. Pream episode. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. Much love. Nonsense slang. What else is it? Oh, there's too much.

Alex: 1:15:27

Learn learn some some some eddies, and then we're all good. Yeah, send eddies our way. Or not. No, don't know. I mean, you can. You're loud. I don't know what I'm gonna do with Eddie's fake money. Send all the edibles to Alex's house. Yes, I will take them. I will take them. Well, good time, brother man. Thanks for much love to all of you. Thanks for listening. Much appreciated. You can uh hit the show notes, send us a text, respond to those in the next episode. That's the thing you can do. You can join the Discord, that's another thing you can do. Uh, that is the best place to get a hold of Luke. He'll jump in there. That's actually the best place to get a hold of me these days as well. But uh, feel free to follow us on the socials, doing some fun things over there. Uh, been chopping up, doing different clips of the podcast recently, plans to move back in to do some more content around uh the pocket picks and the start screens. I'm also playing around with another series where I showcase some of the uh retro gear that I got and some of the like not so retro gear, but like, you know, future retro type stuff as we like to call it. Yeah, show us your cyberware. Yes, sir. So more show and tell plan on the socials. Come check that out, y'all. Much love. Till next time. See you later, brother.

Speaker: 1:16:40

Peace and apparently some plant out in Santos short circuit. Heard the EMPs were knocking AVs out of the sky. The CPD says the blackout led to a hundred and twenty mil in damages all in all. The real tragedy, though, I can't stomach a cold burrito.

Johnny Silverhand: 1:17:27

You got some cojones, V.