In a slight break from tradition, this episode is somewhat more timeous. Toni rejoins us to discuss our thoughts on all the announcements in the January Nintendo Direct.

We're joined by a special guest this episode! Tom last joined us back in Episode 10 to discuss MOBAs. We've talked about competitive Pokémon before too, with Marti Bennett back in episode 21. This time, we turn our attention to the trading card game.

In this episode we discuss a mixture of AAA titles on our radar and what they mean for the industry, and our own personal choices for games we want to pick up this year.

AAA titles on our radar:

• Yoshi's Crafted World
• Anthem
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Animal Crossing Switch
• Mario Kart Tour
• Phoenix point
• Yakuza 4
• Fire Emblem Three Houses

Sefran's choices:

• Persona 5
• Valkyria Chronicles 4
• Finish Breath of the Wild
• Civilization 6 and its expansions
• Yakuza 0
• More competitive gaming

Jalada's choices:

• Persona 5 if it comes to Switch
• Finish Okami
• Forza Horizon 4
• Diablo 3 on Switch
• GRIS
• The indie games I've missed; Firewatch, Hyper Light Drafter, Dead Cells.

Some of the games we talk about include:

• Frostpunk
• BattleTech
• Okami HD
• Heroes of the Storm
• Breath of the Wild
• Celeste
• Hollow Knight

Article in The Daily Beast.

This episode is our third Game Club, where we pick a game that neither of us have played before, play it separately, and then come together with our own fresh thoughts to discuss it on Octal FM.

This time, it's Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, a sci-fi RTS from Stardock.

In this concluding episode about Jalada's trip to California we talk more about the Pacific Coast Highway, visiting LA, and how the trip turned from a sightseeing trip into something much more personal.