

The Besties
Russ Frushtick, Chris Plante, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy
It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 8, 2021 • 58min
The Golden Age of Sega is Upon Us
This week, we're sorta discussing Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, but to be honest, it's more of a table setter for Chris' thesis that it's never been a better time to be a Sega fan. Which is, to put it lightly, a divisive position to take. Other games discussed include: Sonic Mania and Sonic Colors, Phantasy Star Online, Shenmue, Yakuza, Farm RPG, Box One, Jenny LeClue, Diablo 2 Resurrected, and The Exorcist.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Oct 5, 2021 • 45min
Alan Wake vs. the best JRPG of the year [Resties]
In this, the first official episode of The Besties Resties: Alan Wake Remastered, Tales of Arise, and The Artful Escape are great games. And yet you may have missed them because there are so many new releases hitting all at once. Don't worry, we'll catch you up on the fall's OTHER great games. New episodes of The Besties Resties will drop on every other Tuesday through the rest of 2021.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Oct 1, 2021 • 1h 1min
The Hidden Gems of the Past 200-ish Episodes!
We're celebrating our 200th episode, or at least the episode we assume is somewhere around our 200th, by talking about hidden gems of this year and the past decade, which is how long we've been doing this show, which is ... man. We need to go lie down for a while. Games discussed include: TOEM, Eastward, Beast Breaker, Crusin Blast, Antichamber, Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, Tiny Wings, Jazzpunk, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, Walkabout Mini Golf and Cookie Clicker!
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Sep 24, 2021 • 51min
Doing the Time Warp Yet Again with Deathloop
This week, we're discussing Arkane's time-traveling Groundhog Day-meets-creative murder sandbox Deathloop! And boy howdy, is there a lot to discuss. We also break down the glut of time looping games that have come out this year, which we've definitely done before, but, hey, it feels appropriate, right?Other games discussed include: Destiny 2, Elsinore, The Forgotten City, Overboard, Zelda: Majora's Mask, Returnal, Outer Wilds, World Flipper, Prey: Mooncrash, and Eastward.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Sep 17, 2021 • 51min
WarioWare-ing with Ron Funches
Honorary Besties Ron Funches joins us once again to discuss the latest opus from Mario's pungent counterpart, WarioWare: Get It Together. Other games discussed include: Splitgate, Final Fantasy V, The Forgotten City, Deathloop (briefly!) and a whole mess of other WarioWare games!
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Sep 10, 2021 • 1h 3min
A Very Merry Holiday Season Preview Plus Time-looping Romans
This week we're giving you all a preview of what to expect this holiday season, from the Halos to the Metroids and everything in between. We also discuss The Forgotten City, a wild time-looping narrative game that's guarenteed to get you a minor in philosophy. Other games discussed: Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Monster Train: The Last Divinity, Spookware, and Dungeon Village 2.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Sep 3, 2021 • 38min
No More Heroes and the Power of Egg Steam
No More Heroes 3 explores the question of whether toilet jokes can get old. We also dive into the challenging topic of auteur games, and whether a single person's creative vision can make magic or mayhem in the world of video games. Also discussed: Out of this World, Cibele, How Do You Do It?, Dys4ia, Might Jill Off, Death Stranding, Spelunky 2, The Forgotten City, Wildermyth, and 100 Foot Wave (which is a show, not a game).
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Aug 27, 2021 • 53min
Speaking sequels with Axiom Verge 2 and Psychonauts 2
This week, we’re breaking down two sequels that couldn’t be more different from each other: The unique metroidvania romp known as Axiom Verge 2, and the throwback action-platformer Psychonauts 2. Other games discussed include Spelunky 1 and 2 on Switch, The Vale and Twelve Minutes.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Aug 20, 2021 • 51min
Living the Dorm Life with Multiplayer Classics
We’re back, and we’re talking about the multiplayer games that defined our college dorm experience, despite the fact that half of us never lived in a college dorm, and also some of the games we discuss came out like, last year. Games discussed include: Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, Secret of Mana, Castle Crashers, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Destiny 2, NBA Jam, NCAA Football, Dropmix, Slime Rancher, Garden Story, Islanders, Spelunky 1&2, Axiom Verge 2, Forgotten City, Wildermyth and, naturally, Final Fantasy XIV.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Aug 13, 2021 • 1h 10min
Why Zelda: Breath of the Wild could still be GotY in 2021
Griffin and Justin are off galavanting for a week, leaving the rest of the podcast, Plante and Frushtick, to carry on The Besties name. In honor of that, we're doing a deeper dive into one of the greatest games ever discussed on the podcast: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. What were some of its best ideas and how do we expect things to play out in the still-unnamed sequel? Other games discussed: Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X, Curse of the Dead Gods on Game Pass, and Wildermyth.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!


