School of Movies

Spider-Man (PS4)

[School of Everything Else 2018]

This turned out to be one of my favourite games of all time, and as you'll hear it pushed so many of my positive buttons that exceptionally good games released immediately after I finished just don't measure up, for a variety of reasons.

This was a commissioned show by Chris Finik. I wasn't going to do an episode about it because I was very aware it might become work and suck all the joy out of the experience, but I was able to hit the right balance and crucially I decided while I was halfway through rather than being set the daunting task of completing and assessing forty hours of gameplay without having played a moment.

There are strong arguments afoot that this is one of the finest depictions of the wall-crawler in any media. We talk about why, and save the spoilers for the last act (around two hours in and you'll get a fair warning so nothing will be made worse for you if you haven't played, only better). 

Guest:

Jesse Ferguson of Recorded Tomorrow

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

[School of Everything Else 2018]

We're back on video games with a very intriguing commission. This one takes the form of a third-person action adventure with some protracted puzzling elements, but underneath the format there is a dark and upsetting, remarkably sensitive story about the nightmarish challenges that sometimes have to be faced when a person is suffering from psychosis. 

Made by Ninja Theory, the dev team behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DMC and Disney Infinity 3.0 this game does things with its soundscape that very few others do. If you've not played it this show might still be a good place to start because you might either find it frustrating or alarming to play or else miss quite a bit as you barge through the many horned enemies. 

WARNING: This one gets heavy and maybe even frightening. 

Guest:

Doctor Lorin Grieve from Year of Steam

Overwatch

[School of Everything Else 2018]

One of the greatest character lineups in a multiplayer video game ever assembled, Overwatch presents us with a rich and colourful feast of carefully, lovingly prepared treats. 

We spent two and a half hours talking over the 26 current heroes, their backgrounds and design. That's our focus for the show, not playing the game itself or the mechanics.

This is a brand that's going to run and run and we suspect we'll be back here again at some point talking about a TV show or a movie or a different kind of game set in this world. We can't wait to see what Blizzard do.

Next Week: Black Panther

Guests

Jason "Chewie" Slate of The Mana Pool 

 Neil Taylor of TheKiddDogg 

Game Developer Glen Watts