Cairn's Design, Story and Tone

On this week's Crewcast, Frank's finishing his fighter pilot homework in Ace Combat 7, Jeremy's reaching new heights in Cairn, and the crew chew on the gameplay gaffs and multiplayer marketing controversy of Highguard.

Highguard: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4128260/Highguard/

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown: https://store.steampowered.com/app/502500/ACE_COMBAT_7_SKIES_UNKNOWN/

Cairn: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1588550/Cairn/

BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3191050/BRAZILIAN_DRUG_DEALER_3_I_OPENED_A_PORTAL_TO_HELL_IN_THE_FAVELA_TRYING_TO_REVIVE_MIT_AIA_I_NEED_TO_CLOSE_IT/

Jason Schreier's Reporting on the Developers of Order of the Sinking Star and Jon Blow (gift link provided by Schreier on BlueSky): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-01-22/jonathan-blow-a-controversial-video-game-designer-returns-with-a-new-game?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2OTExNzQ0NCwiZXhwIjoxNzY5NzIyMjQ0LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUOUFCUTFLSUpIOTQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.lCeF7lN0LwTVYvwcCj-Aopgnc3F8154obfddKngFO1g&leadSource=uverify%20wall

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Chapters:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:04:33 - Thanking our Patreon supporters!

0:06:07 - Highguard

0:42:01 - Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

0:50:54 - BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL (etc.)

0:54:23 - Cairn

1:17:01 - Q: Has a developer made you reconsider a game?

1:37:20 - Noclip Updates

1:39:07 - Sign Off