TheBesties patreon

Take a road trip through the eyes of a Millenial

🕑 Added 2025-02-25 05:01:01 +0000 UTC

Comments

Duncan Hamra

Bracket ideas! - Best “I just had a kid games) - best 2 player games - best mmo

Little Mel

-Best character one-liner.

Little Mel

They've done biggest twist!

Little Mel

Didn't they do best boss?

Little Mel

Bracket Ideas: -Best series lore. -Best voice acting. -Best vehicle.

Ferreeeeeence

Bracket idea: best final game of each console. It is probably hard to really nail down (does random trash game count?) but something along the lines of that one game at the end of a console that kind of felt like the culmination of developers completely understanding the console.

The Biggest Papa

I’d like to see a bracket for the best couch coop game!

NolanForMayor

Bracket Ideas: 1. Best UI/HUD in a game. Diegetic UI, Meta UI. Does it enhance or hinder the game? Does it add to the experience? I think there could be a lot of discussion around it. Bonus for talking about menu noises because I will forever recognize the sounds of navigating early Final Fantasy menus. 2. Best Movement in video games. Just Cause 2. Sonic the Hedgehog. Mario. Metroid. I think how you get around a world is so important and makes or breaks so many games. You could talk about progression and how important it is the gameplay. I think it would be a fun bracket.

Ian Moore

RE: 'punishment' roguelikes, I propose 'attrition' roguelike, since you're usually trying to maintain as many of your resources as you can more so than you are making number go up?

Ryan Butt

A couple of ideas for brackets: -Best Original Soundtrack -Best Licensed Soundtrack

Grant Cameron

I second this!

Sticky Dylan

Bracket idea: best “gamer” food product, such as Respawn gum or GamerFuel Mountain Dew

EonFox

Bracket Idea: best Hideo Kojima nonsense. Can include things like the guy full of bees, his celebrity cameos, why babies can see ghosts, etc

Blank Space

Chef/owner of a burger shop here in Tokyo. Never comment, but heeding Russ’s call. 1. Russ is absolutely correct about big burgers. It’s beginning to die down now, but the trend in Japan for a while was these comically tall burgers that were impossible to eat. No thank you. Fellow professionals: please stop. 2. Chris is looking at it from the wrong direction. Burgers are the derivative form. Before hamburger sandwiches were Hamburg steaks. Hamburgs (or ハンバーグ) are omnipresent here and in some areas easier to find than burgers, including in convenience stores.

Avery

Not sure if Chris is a gundam fan, but if so, have you seen the new Gquuuuuux Beginning movie? First 20 minutes are dripping with nostalgia bait for the original series, and then the new characters are super fun

J. Mark Madison

Best boss villain Best grunt bad guy (goombas and the like)

Lance Hayes

Ok but hamburger helper doesn't have any buns but is still called hamburger.

ames

I feel like “through the eyes of a Millennial” is what we’ve all done over the past 30-40 years, lol

Alec Maure

After listening to the latest Besties main feed ep, I would kill for a ep where Justin goes in depth all the ways he's delved into building his own computers and systems for himself and his home. Maybe with an expert a la Other Russ to expound upon it and other options. It's fascinating and Justin explaining it makes it seem much more approachable. Please and thank you kindly!

The Hottest Robot

Besties battle bracket idea: -Best monster - in honor of the new Monster Hunter coming out. Anything from MH's Khezu, Bloodborne's "The One Reborn", or the SkiFree Abominable Snowman.

John Sheridan

Would love to see a Best Mario Sports game. On a side note, I'm not sure if y'all saw, but someone managed to make an unofficial port of UFO50 for Android. It requires a legal copy of the game to work, so there's no piracy involved. Runs perfectly on the Retroid Pocket 5. Link below: https://www.reddit.com/r/ufo50/s/IDVhoBvwbY

27Lizards

Best Besties Episode pls

Alan Madison

Best E3 presentation. This could be an entire presentation or just a snippet from a larger show. Just to take a crazy example of the latter, you could include Peter Molyneux’s Project Milo demonstration.

Theresa

Re: hamburger meat. You can buy stew meat too, but if you serve it alone on a plate it isn't stew.

billfromamerica

Best music would be great! I also love the suggestion of best loading screen. Any superlatives you want to give to individual characters is great too. I loved best sidekick.

Bee Money

Best David Lynch-ass games. You know, those surreal games that feel like the writers were smoking weed and watching Twin Peaks when they came up with it.

Zachary Emerson

Best Fishing Minigame

Brannon Hoff

Best Video Game Genre

Walter Blakey

Best Loading screens

Shart Carbuncle

Chris is wylin' out with the burger talk. You can order a ground sirloin steak at a steakhouse, which is essentially a burger patty, but it ain't a burger.

Matthew Williamson

Alright, I've got a besties bracket where the rubric writes itself. "Best box art for the worst game."

The Onj Monster

Best jumping.

Greg Harries

Please do a Battle Bracket of the best Couch Co-Op Games! My partner and I have just played through TMNT: Splintered Fate and have moved on to Cult of the Lamb. Games with friendly fire/accidental bumps are fine, but nothing strictly competitive should be in the mix, I figure.

melanee

Best video game soundtracks!

Whatsup Studmuffin

Besties bracket idea Best game of the year You pick games that won the official game of the year title and pit them against each other to find the bestest game of the year. Bracket idea, what were their opponents- how difficult were they to beat? Would the game win game of the year again?

Jimmy Towle

I prefer to use chopsticks to eat the Trader Joe's version of Takis regardless of if I'm gaming or not

100 feral cats

A few bracket ideas: Best video game movie Best use of motion controls Best magic system Worst in game company to work for (e.g. Aperture)

Nic

Bracket Ideas: Biggest Swings and Misses Strangest Boss Fights Nintendo IP Biggest badass Biggest Twist Games You Wish You Liked

CJ Foss

Re: burgers, a pet peeve of mine is that in many countries (ime South Asia and Australia among them) anything on a burger bun is a burger. So what we in America would call a fried chicken sandwich a la Popeyes or chick fil a, they call a chicken burger because it’s on a burger bun. This infuriates me beyond a reasonable level, a burger requires ground meat

Mr. Pulley

Like this video: https://youtu.be/OyfJ_R2Q2IQ?si=cMe2ssKoDEA9SbOA

Mr. Pulley

The burger guy is George Motz, an actual Burger historian. He knows his stuff, has researched meticulously, and recreated them faithfully. He has a small series with First We Feast about some of these different burgers. Worth checking out on YouTube.

Mat Yunker

Best minigame!

Devin White

Also, really unfortunate timing on the Monolith news.

Devin White

Before I drone on in my comment, first let me say: best (optional) housing/home system. Moving on, I find Russ’s roguelike distinction interesting. It’s subtle, but I get it. The limited nature of runs means that developers don’t have to include rest/refresh mechanics, like things that consistently restore your health and resources. It also means they don’t have to nerf positive feedback loops. So, the question is why is this roguelike a roguelike? Is it so developers can do more of the former and stretch you for resources, like in FTL? Or is that they can allow powerful otherwise-game-breaking combos, like in Slay the Spire or Hades? It’s a good distinction to make because the two vibes are very different, even though what separates them design-wise could be very little.

MitchellNotMitch

In a long term, geographically isolated work role for half the year so i’d love to hear a bracket battle on the best time commitment game - some are like balatro, where you can sink hours and hours into mechanics; then you have ones like xenoblade that are just an exceptionally long story. Which of these among competitors are ideal for extended offline play over a long period of time?

Brad MacDonald

Yall must’ve been talking about George Motz on the burger talk. Maybe a bracket of your favorite pokemon games? Like the mainline/detective pikachu/snap/stadium you can also get into what’s your favorite generation or pokemon. What your kids picked first if they’ve ever played. Idk just something

IHaveARussFrushtickBodyPillow

Best voice acting, Best weird voice acting

Ben Wood

Best console library

Christopher Floyd

I haven’t played it yet, but are you sure the genre of Keep Driving isn’t “Oregon-Trail-like”? (Also, shouldn’t we have more Oregon-Trail-likes?)

Landon Pate

Best Celebrity tie-in game, a la 50 cent blood on the sand, shaq fu, etc.

Matthew Williamson

For the Resties community here is a running list of games mentioned on both Besties and Resties: https://www.ign.com/playlist/ixiandoom/lists/the-bestiesresties-games-in-2025

Kel Bennett

Best non-console/controller accessory. Is it a lap desk? A wild gaming chair? Wildest food product aimed at Gamers: gaming supplements etc. Best game outfit or outfit customization that has zero effect on the actual game.

Royce Song

I’m gonna keep saying it until it happens: Best Video Game Bromance Examples include Shepard & Garrus Master Chief & Arbiter Marcus Fenix & Dom Kasuga & Nanba/Adachi

Benjammin’

Best music to work out to

Craig Kober

I want to see a bracket for “Coolest video game character” but only if Dante from the Devil May Cry series is included. I don’t need him to win I just need to recognition.

Eugene Marder

My take is that the hamburger is the patty, which goes into a popular food item called a “hamburger sandwich.” However, over time, we have accepted “hamburger” to always imply “hamburger sandwich” because as quality of living has increased the notion of eating a hamburger patty has become associated with a guy-wearing-barrel-on-suspenders-type lifestyle. So now we expect the bun.

Stephen Taubner

Very interesting take on Keep Driving. I, for one, didn’t find it punishing or stressful at all because of how the game is laid before you and how it knows that there isn’t a right choice at almost any point for any action you take, and that having that feeling is okay. I think the setting of being in early adulthood, being broke as shit, not having much direction in your life, subsisting off of gas station snacks, a case of beer, and what rest you can get whilst crammed in your car is crucial to making the game therapeutic and introspective. Shit happens all the time in it, and the people you find along the way are all lost and broken in their own different way from you, but that’s a part of what life is like. There’s always something fucking life up, no matter how far ahead you think you’ll get, and that’s kind of the point. As corny as it sounds, it really isn’t about the destination, or the win state in this case, it’s about the story that comes out of the journey. When you complete a run, those runs are collected in a stamp book at the main menu, detailing in short sentences what that run, that time in your life, was like, encouraging you to think back on those memories. Each start of a run also encourages you to slip into that headspace with its intro writing, changing your outlook on the trip and what comes after each time (I got one recently that described the road trip in terms of taking a break from treating an illness you have, with a nurse dotting out a path on the road map). Clearly this game stirred something up deep inside of me, really grateful for the time I’ve had with it so far

DieselDonkey

Best rival is a good one

DieselDonkey

Best vehicle! And I 100% eat Flaming Hot Cheetos with chopsticks so I don't get the orange nuclear waste dust on my fingers. Thanks for the tip, Plante!

Tobachnick

For the next bracket I suggest either best rival or best basic enemy. Thanks for the pod!

Daniel Munck

I don’t know if this is feasible but maybe a bracket of best deep cut childhood video games/abandonware games, basically games that aren’t major titles but deserve some recognition, examples would be like Lego racers 2 or zoombinis or something

Kel Bennett

Yours is the first gaming podcast I've ever listened to, and I don't know why I haven't been, to the point where I'm back-listening now as well. I am for sure a 'late to the game' gamer and finding community has been tough! I learned what different types of video games are (metroidvania! roguelike!) and I've gained the confidence to try games I never, ever would (spoiler: it was Elden Ring and I did quit, but at least I tried!) and you've introduced me to new games that have become favourites (my wife can't stop playing balatro, and I love Penko Park and Astrobot). You've made me more comfortable in my community, made me more knowledgeable about what I like and look for in games and helped me introduce other friends to things they'll love too. I want to thank you for the accessible, fun and always informative podcast. I'll never be someone who doesn't use guides (sorry Russ) but I've found a small aspect of each of you that matches my gaming style. Love, a new lifelong patron and listener, Kel (catpennies)

Merina

millennial great episode! Keep Driving looks awesome.

William (Biggggg5) Mason

I think a burger is as little as the patty. You would say “let me get the burgers off the grill” before a bun or wrap is even involved.

zach winstead

Would love a bracket on best game that started a genre (ex. Metroid starting search action games)

Bret Scofield

Russ, my wife does chips or similar things with chopsticks, while working sometime so her hands are clean and not grummy. Some bracket ideas: -World you would rather spend a long vacation in for the next few years -best game where the most fun is doing everything other than the main plot or point of the game -best villain or antagonist that you'd still be okay with them being your parent -best games that are fun and while being adjacent to edutainment.

Squeatus

I had a totally different experience with Keep Driving. I never found it overly anxious inducing or that difficult. Got one of the many ending my second play though.

Caleb Ackerman

Russ I've been playing a game I think you might like. It's called Archaeogem. Has some Celeste vibes, very precise platforming built around the dash mechanic but where it is a consumable (i.e. has a limited amount) rather than rechargeable. Wouldn't say it's breaking any ground but a fun short puzzle platformer for those of us who are sad about Earthblade being cancelled