Astro Bot Review, Zelda Reveals, Concord Pulled From Stores - The MinnMax Show

[@minnmax]

Compete in Trivia Tower, unlock benefits, and support independent games media by jumping in at even the $2 tier - www.patreon.com/minnmax

[@DamTheKid]

Show ruled! Real banger. PDX meetup is awesome. Haters gonna hate in the comments today tho.

[@saibher.]

Leo didn't even need to sing praises for concord and it still died. His power grows ever stronger...

[@podbod25]

He just thought "this games looks kinda good" and boom, it was shut down. The man is scary.

[@AdeelTariq0]

Can't believe he hates so many good games to let them live

[@miguelb5661]

Poor Leo. Cursed to not only see every video game he loves die quickly, but also be responsible for it 😞

[@Hazz3r]

44:07 The fasted "unrelease" was actually The Culling 2, a sequel to a fairly popular Battle Royale on Steam, notable enough to get a 2/10 from IGN when it released. It managed 8 days before it was taken offline and purchases refunded. Concord managed 9 days before the 'unrelease' was announced!

[@minnmax]

Good memory!

[@Hazz3r]

@@minnmax I wish! I played the Culling a fair bit but didn’t realise until I was looking it up when the Concord news dropped!

[@justincolgan1833]

I cannot wait to share Astro Bot with my kids. Playroom has been played over and over since PS5 launch and this looks like a memory making experience

[@mandbgames]

Ben's excitement of Astro Bot gets me even more excited. I have been confident for the last few months that this is going to be my GotY and reviews coming out are solidifying this thought. It looks so damn good. So jealous of you guys getting codes, I gotta get in on that next time! Love MinnMax and glad you guys exist.

[@smellywaffels1967]

Amazing show as usual keep up the great work.

[@minnmax]

Oh hey thanks so much!

[@catalystiic]

A couple of rude comments pretty early on, dang! I'm looking forward to getting through this episode :) Thanks for the work you all do and making my work shifts go by faster.

[@MadeByJoey]

Haley's positivity and joy is wonderful and refreshing!

[@ChewyPocket]

Where'd all these haters come from? Love the excitement for Astro Bot!

[@David-uc6sg]

Correction on JeffMs get a load of this: Jensen was a Blue Jay and was traded to the Red Sox.

[@fayte0618]

47:37 a dev confirmed idea for the game was 8 years ago, studio was founded 2 years after that, game started actual development less than 4 years ago

[@MarkPTP7000]

That 'meet the flockers' line 😂

[@DamTheKid]

Not a single joke missed

[@TinyDancerX99]

Just replayed Galaxy for the first time in over a decade. It’s better than you remember.

[@manick_t1801]

I've realized that one of Janet's strengths is her comparisons. She always has some interesting "It's like if you..." thing to relate to and I always find it fun.

[@RichardMatey]

Like ummmm ... Like sometimes constructive criticism..... Is like one of those times ...ummm you can learn better communication skills?....

[@manick_t1801]

@@RichardMatey you can do other things. you don't have to be here

[@RichardMatey]

@@manick_t1801 very smart wisdom. Minnmax should adopt this as a slogan for the Patreon.

[@smellywaffels1967]

He does have to be here. Sadly he has nothing else going on in life. That’s why he’s mad Janet has friends and a podcast.

[@isaaccooper448]

False. Janet has no strengths 😂

[@Zories97]

I’m so excited for Astro Bot I’ve been watching reviews over and over to live vicariously through people who have played it so this discussion is much appreciated!

[@johnconnor6831]

The Starfield theme is a weird one because people know the Skyrim theme and other game themes because they liked the games more and played them more. Its not necessarily down to one composition being good and one being bad.

[@fotografick]

Yeah, it was a weird point that Janet was trying to make. It's ok to be critical, but that was just unreasonable. "if I can't hum your theme on the spot, you failed at your job"

[@dylan8411]

Love the show, and Haley’s bonus pods have been excellent lately! Some early commenters woke up on the wrong side of the bed lol

[@Scarhandz]

I use to fawn over this show until I realised, they won't have anybody on that won't vote how they want them too. Love Ben and the gang. But making friends and doing better as your moniker is a lie and an insult to us all. If I'm lying, someone show me 1 episode that proves otherwise... I'll wait.

[@KevinJennissen]

I love these folks. But Janet, your take that commas should not be used before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences is truly unhinged. 🙀

[@TheRatsCast]

Of you folks haven't played Dragon Quest Builders 2, you could use a bed during battle to regain heal. In fact, having several beds on hand just in case any of your villagers or teammates fall in battle is very helpful.

[@thefattmish]

Another wonderful and funny show. Glad to be a supporter. A+

[@DontuseMyRealNameYTplz1425]

Concord getting a shutdown was inevitable, I just didn't expect it to happen not even two full weeks after release.

[@Spitznock]

I bought Concord at launch after not playing the betas, and my immediate thought was that it reminded me of Lawbreakers. I played 6 or 7 matches and didn't feel compelled to play more. Pleasantly surprised they're giving out refunds, but I wasn't expecting one. I'm old fashioned, I guess.

[@TheFizzjunior]

You placed a bet on the horse that finished in last place and lost so hard the bookie said, "Okay. We'll give your money back on that one. That was crazy what that horse did!" They opened the gates, and that horse spontaneously combusted or something of that magnitude. Just ludicrous behavior.

[@melephs_cap]

I think Jeff's criticism of trick HP bars circa 1:30:00 is actually not about the HP bars themselves so much as the arbitrary decision to force the player to win both phase 1 and phase 2 in one go before getting to save their progress. It sounds like he mainly cares that the HP bar is lying to him that the challenge will be over when it reaches zero when it actually won't, so I think if there were a kind of checkpoint between phase 1 and 2 he'd be fine with it. I think a game's UI absolutely has the right to deceive players. Deceptive HP visualization in shooters where the "low health" visual indicators are actually much more generous than the player might assume are a good example. But many games have kind of poisoned the well with trick HP bars such that even when they might have ludonarrative purpose (e.g. the HUD represents info provided by a diegetically unreliable source) they may come odf as cheap. Like even a smart and well-telegraphed usage of unreliable UI can have players going "well the devs are just trying to make up reasons for this mean trick." That response can sometimes be the result of a somewhat incoherent overall game design, making the players not get why the reason that the devs "made up" is actually very important and adds to the game's creative vision, but I digress. Complicated subject. Devs should reflect on what they want their UI to communicate and realize that their checkpointing system may contribute to how that UI is perceived.

[@charoleawood]

i suggest they refill my health bar too and my estus flasks when they pull these surprises. Maybe handicap the other phases of a boss so that their health is rapidly deteriorating even as their aggression goes up, or grant the player extra fast stamina recovery on top of refilling health and estus.

[@HistoricTubes]

I love that people are so hot on Astro Bot! For me, it's a good, not great, game. Personally, the thing that makes or breaks 3D platformers is the movement mechanics. I want them to be fast, fluid, and a bit more complex than just walk and jump. I am finding some issues with the fluidity of the movement in Astro Bot, and I wish there was a bit more depth to the movement. Also, the camera panning feels painfully slow, and there is no option to change it. The game is incredibly charming, though, in a way that doesn't feel gross like Ben mentioned. The particle effects are also an incredible tech illustration. Personally, one game that I feel doesn't get enough recognition in the 3D platformer space is A Hat in Time.

[@EricShoe]

100% agree. Some powers are used constantly while others are used once. How many times do I have to use the rocket dog and chicken?! Also many of the levels started to lose their charm. Another snow, desert, water, city level. They blend together. Also I was hoping for more of a challenge. The optional levels are harder, but the main levels are a breeze. Copy and paste enemies as well, with minor costume variations. It’s a good game, but very safe. Nostalgia bait.

[@wallacelovecraft8942]

Loved the episode. The community questions were great in that they made conversations go places.

[@ChickenTuesday]

Me and my partner have been doing long distance for a few months and she has our PS5. This is the first time I've been super bummed out to not have it, but I'm glad she gets to play with Astro

[@mart8577]

It's fun to hear everyone gushing about the same game :). Too bad Astrobot won't be on PC, unless that rapid fire interview was onto something...

[@wittynicknamehere]

I'd imagine it will. Just not until 2026 or so.

[@gogomonstertruck]

I just don’t see Concord coming back at all. Why would Sony invest even more money into this game?

[@Profecy02]

Great show this week guys!

[@expsharevideogames]

Starfield main theme is great and being able to recall and hum a song on the spot months or even years since hearing it last is not the only or even the most important factor in determining how good a song is.

[@fotografick]

nope, janet said that they failed at their job.

[@mart8577]

34:03 "not according to this fanart" is the hardest ive laughed in a while

[@goldie819]

Concord should've been released F2P from the start, and its business model planned around F2P. It wouldn't have done great, but it would've done better than this. Bottom line is the space is already crowded and there isn't much room for anything more. Even something with wild new ideas like The Finals is just doing... fine.

[@windfollowing]

Thanks!

[@minnmax]

Whoa, hey thank you!

[@cole_henry-mashuga]

Loving Astro Bot!!

[@minnmax]

Whoa, thanks so much!

[@swordsandwolves]

Not trying to come at a game I didn’t play, but that Starfield theme could be any modern sci-fi theme. There is nothing that stands out about it. I’m no Soule-stan, ‘Dragonborn’ has staying power, or even The Witcher 3’s ‘The Trail’ or ‘Geralt of Rivia’. The game immediately comes to mind. Nothing about the theme I heard makes me think of a trailer, or footage, it sounds generically sci-fi. Themes should lend themselves fully to making you remember.

[@pillsburydoughbane2618]

See I’m on the exact opposite side, I think the orchestral sound and core motif are amazing. Imo, if Starfield was a 10/10 universally acclaimed title, we’d be saying it’s one of the most iconic scores of the 2020s so far

[@fotografick]

The real problem with your comment is that you didn't play it. A theme is best heard in the context it was intended for. If you had played the game, likely you would be praising it.

[@swordsandwolves]

@@pillsburydoughbane2618 I don’t have anything against the song itself, the sound of the main theme seems very fitting, it definitely gives “space”. It makes me think of Jack de Quidt’s album for Twilight Mirage.

[@MasDouc]

Best game ive played since Elden Ring. Its an all-timer.

[@TakaChan569]

I can't find a soul that has anything bad to say about astro bot, like nothing else in a long time has gotten this much "Everybody liked that" vibes and proof not every game needs to be some hardcore serious game and sometimes simple fun is just freaking great.

[@kirbyinahoodie7436]

Oh, weird! I'm gonna be Mushnik in a community theater production of Little Shop that goes up in October and I had to pause this episode like halfway through to go to a blocking rehearsal.

[@minnmax]

Ha, that is very strange! Have fun!

[@dbz5af]

Reading the comments on any Janet episode is super frustrating. I love this community because I think of it as a positive and accepting space, then in comes the old crones complaining about a young woman saying "like." It gives me pause because this is something that young people have been doing for YEARS. Teachers would mock students for saying "like" too often 15 years ago. This is how a lot of young people talk! Let it go! For those that say she isn't an effective communicator, she clearly is! She's a successful games writer who works with multiple different networks of talented people. She can get on a tangent sometimes but we're listening to a podcast for people's opinions! That's part of the show! I understand that comments sections are definitely more skewed towards people with more polarized opinions, however the constant negativity for her just doesn't make sense to me given how generally positive the community and cast are. All of this being said, I do not cosign what she said about Mario Galaxy.

[@EricShoe]

Sometimes she can be hostile. I was rewatching a two tens discussion from a few years ago, and she was grating. Being passive aggressive and antagonistic when one of her picks didn’t make the list. I usually don’t mind her though.

[@smellywaffels1967]

That’s total BS. You just have that “angry dark skinned woman” view. Sarah (who I also like) is always yelling at Ben and being hostile and none of you say a word. Janet laughs and jokes and “she’s always angry” smh.

[@EricShoe]

@@smellywaffels1967 Now that you mention it, I find Sarah grating at points too. But that’s okay! It’s fine if people are irritating at points because most people are. This isn’t a race thing, at least in my case. Not sure about other people making comments.

[@Harrison_J_T]

Yeah I've noticed Janet of all people seems to get way harsher criticism than a lot of the other cohorts. She seems not be bothered by it all that much based on things she's said in the past but it's still a bummer to see it happening

[@vics-XL]

Damnit Kyle. Giving up on Star Wars Outlaws!

[@KyleHilliard]

I’ll get back to it! Probably.

[@andrewrutherford9255]

I just played a couple hours of astro and i love it so much so far, it absolutely bangs. I hope it sells gangbusters so we get more of this and less of concord/fairgame$ rubbish.

[@aSheetGhost]

@minnmax you mentioned a meet up “In the Portland Area” soon!? There are a few Portlands…. I hope you mean Oregon? :)

[@minnmax]

Yes, Oregon. More details soon!

[@aSheetGhost]

@@minnmax hell yeah! I hope I can go. Ground Kontrol and Quarterworld are great options and Portland staples.

[@tonyg7499]

Am I out of the loop? Is every MinnMax Show YT comment section like this? The vitriol from a small group of people is insane.

[@shifting_tides]

Not usually, no. It's weird to see

[@neddy42]

The collapse of concord has seemed to bring out a lot of gross people to comment sections. Kinda Funny’s the day of the announcement was a cesspool.

[@goldie819]

@@neddy42 There's a bunch of people hate-following that game because their favorite influencers told them to, they don't even sound like they play videogames

[@smellywaffels1967]

It’s usually mostly nice. Wukong and the Minecraft trailer had a lot of douches bags on KZbin these past few days.

[@Scarhandz]

Dustborn😊

[@hododod246]

I was planing to wait for Astro Bot to come ps plus. Guess I have to buy it tomorrow.

[@finerdly]

When Ben said "hip", he really became a dad.

[@wwoouutt1]

Janet playing Tekken 8 sounds like a great New Show Plus. 👍

[@minglelupeas]

That’s two strikes for things named Concord(e) and being associated with the sunk cost fallacy

[@wesbanderson664]

astro bot was always going to be a cert for me.. but i was thinking more for christmas.. but guess i’ll cave sooner now 😅

[@goodtaste2185]

It is wild that PS5 actually lost a game. However, AstroBot proves that earnest passion and a focus on fun will beat out any market trends or data analysis every time. I love video games!

[@jkdeadite]

Pulling Concord with no hint of a plan does not make me optimistic about it coming back. A week and change is not enough time to make a very nuanced decision at a big company like Sony, and the cost to keep the servers running couldn't have been prohibitive for them. Hopefully it's a hard pivot, and not them shutting down operations.

[@charoleawood]

if FromSoft would only refill MY health bar and estus flasks, maybe also give me rapidly refilling stamina for a short time --- we do defeat the first phase of a boss after all, it's not we who should be handicapped --- then i'd be okay with surprise second and third phase battles.

[@kulturvultur5036]

Awesome vibes, as always!

[@USMCbrantley]

Zelda and Astro Bot are my top 2 for this month

[@JonnyBriers]

Anyone else buy Astro Bot right after listening to this episode?

[@VanThursby]

minnmax meetup in portland? lesgooooooooo

[@ad-ui6ey]

Ben's feeling spicy in this episode! I like it 😁

[@dancingphlower]

No mention of "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan for best Disney song!?

[@Hazz3r]

Oh yeah, it's for about longevity and collecting. I have a sealed Stadia controller that I'm keeping for 50 years 😅

[@neuroflare]

Janet, I think the Chicago Sky Lion is a reference to Chicago having a distinct skyline

[@Gameonysus]

Ohhhhhhhh SkyliON. It feels like a reach still. I think a cloud would’ve made a lot more sense. But we do have the iconic art institute lions as well which was the other thing I thought about.

[@Admiral_Cant_Hackett]

Other way around on the Danny Jansen GALOT but still such a dumb funny baseball thing.

[@siestaface]

Oh yeah😎

[@paulsanchez001]

I had to do a Google search because i thought Flock was this old xbox 360 arcade game.

[@minnmax]

You're thinking of Swarm?

[@paulsanchez001]

@@minnmax no the Google search says its made by proper games and published by capcom.

[@paulsanchez001]

​@@minnmax no the Google result said it was made by proper games and published by Capcom.

[@Hamerparsa]

Warhammer ?

[@Sizzlinpapaya1014]

I’m not one who goes for completion in a ton of games but I do have a couple platinums. Why does the group seem to against completion in games?

[@R0ndras]

Phil Spencers comments about Redfall on KF is so much BS... dude didnt let the team finish the game and forced them to release it to then close the studio. He is an awful guy.

[@intense79nick]

Felt like Ben was on a tear this episode, mostly antagonizing Janet hahaha. I'm sure it's all in good fun.

[@fotografick]

she will get him back when she beats him in a sprint! 😂

[@chaindead]

Word counter says you guys used the word "like" 1280 times. That's one like every 7 seconds.

[@McCann-fo1un]

"Vibes" and "energy" too

[@minnmax]

Glad you like the podcast!

[@Mr.Schneebly69]

Oh god I can’t hear anything else. Damn you

[@thewhitewolf4968]

​@@minnmaxLIKE😅

[@aldoelektrika]

Most of that is probably Janet, no?

[@mateo6482]

Wait why is Janet here but doesn’t show up on KF anymore?

[@Crash-lm4zb]

Astro bot looks awesome I wish I had a ps5

[@Crash-lm4zb]

Also as someone who likes Tekken, I had no interest in 8 at all lol

[@AndrewMalkin]

I disagree with Janet. The Oxford Comma is extremely helpful

[@SIXminWHISTLE]

There is no way they're going to bring Concord back F2P, it would literally be setting tens of millions on fire in hopes that the world changes their minds in the next few months.

[@manick_t1801]

They already refunded the existing purchases, so their 3 options are 1) Resell it 2) F2P with MTX 3) Don't release it at all. I feel like #2 is the most likely

[@mwmrhdm]

They already wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on this trash only to be completely rejected by the market. Thinking Sony will continue dumping more money into this dumpster fire is delusional, they've shut down studios for far less.

[@ShujinPJ]

I'm here for the sniping and almost-bitterness this week, need more of the 0 sugar brutal capitalist MinnMax royale in these trying times 🤣 Seriously though, great show, love everyone, keep it coming!💜

[@Amra..]

31:07 This is why Galaxy 2 is much superior!! Hardly any story, compact hub, minimal water levels, it's all about the gameplay

[@benexler]

Plus Yoshis

[@miguelb5661]

Yup. I prefer Galaxy 2 10xs more than the first game. It makes it look like a beta in comparison

[@IHJello]

Minnmax did you ever grow up, see a movie trailer, and then maybe a year or two later you saw that movie trailer again? In the past they have re-released movies. I say that to say Kyle's hope for Concord would make sense in this fashion.

[@IHJello]

Also Paragon turned into Predecessor

[@Sudsy08]

Didn't Final Fantasy 14 get un-released? I thought that's why it's called "A Realm Reborn."

[@magnainsomnia]

It was not unreleased, the original game continued while they were developing A Realm Reborn.

[@battlep0t]

Realm Reborn is technically the same game - it's considered patch 2.0

[@tatenaibenbusi]

Someone buy me a PS5 for Astro Bot!

[@homerfan2323]

This was a real toxic episode, not about the games, but to each other. Really shows how much you guys are comfortable around one another now

[@isaaccooper448]

HUM IT!

[@zeikjt]

Literal spoilers in the thumbnail for Astro Bot haha

[@redik_92]

Where’s the spoiler?

[@jtm2y]

we need more minutes spent trying to replicate orchestras with humming.

[@devonpieper8374]

Why does Haley insist on dying on terrible hills to die on.

[@zagraone]

Lol 😂😂😂😂

[@Mikx100]

Concord is a bad game and still keeping up the delusions (still after 8 years) isn't doing any good.

[@bruinfan05]

Algo

[@fieltpenn3423]

Oh we’ll be seeing Concord back as a bot for Astrobot, aka the colorful graveyard of dead IPs

[@miguelb5661]

First, fake gamers! Its Jolly Roger Bay where the eel is at. Dire Dire Docks is the water Bower level with the submarine. Secondly, wow AstroBot taking all of Bakeru's glory as a good platformer. Im playing Bakeru but it runs like butt on Switch to the point its distracting. Im excited to play AstroBot when i get home tho.

[@DamTheKid]

PDX meetup?!?!? Woot woot, i’ll bring a dunk tank so the cohorts can gleefully make me pay for my awful comments. Ill wear mascara just to enhance the enjoyment when i get trounced

[@DamTheKid]

Hey, I’ll admit it. I’m one of these absolute idiots that may have said a negative thing about Janet when she first joined and her prickly playful personality shut me off but hey folks, I WAS PLUM FUGGIN DEAD WRONG. SHE RULES!!!

[@paulmcintyre6857]

Firewalk, Haven and Bungie studios will all be closed within the next year or 2.

[@Echo__plex]

There's no way Bungie closes in the next two years. The other two studios, sure.

[@yomamasohot6411]

Sure! Makes total sense to spend 3.6 billion on an acquisition and a good 1 billion of that for talent retention over the next few years and close the whole studio before the end of that period