NerdyBits

When Guardians of the Galaxy came out in 2014, I didn't know a single person who knew who they were. No one knew who Starlord was, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, none of them. It was one of the only times I walked into a theater for an MCU movie and thought, “Why am I here? I don't care about these characters at all.” Ironically, the other instance of this thought was before watching Captain America: The First Avenger. Luckily, I was very wrong on both occasions. What James Gunn did with the first Guardians movie was nothing short of a small miracle. The Guardians of the Galaxy were a middling hero team devised in the late 60s. One that, as I mentioned before, never really reached any amount of wide acclaim. When the team was rebooted in 2008, with the members seen in the movie that would come six years later, still its readership remained low. In May of 2023, the names Starlord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Nebula are household names. 

Guardians of the Galaxy, as an MCU team, is unique. Preceding the now-inbound Thunderbolts, the Guardians are the closest thing to DC’s Suicide Squad. Though the Guardians aren't ostensibly villains, nor are they part of a government initiative to leverage villains into doing good things by holding a proverbial gun to their head, the Guardians of the Galaxy are all misfits and ne’er-do-wells. Peter Quill being a thief, Rocket an arms dealer, Groot being Rocket’s muscle, Gamora is essentially an assassin, and Drax is called The Destroyer. They are all bad people to differing degrees. So what James Gunn had to do with the first film was two or threefold: He had to introduce us to who these people were, convince us we should care about what they do, and then make us care about them both individually and as a group. To this day, the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie is one of the closest things to a perfect execution in establishing a relationship with unknown characters. 

Now, nearly ten years later, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 seeks to remind us why we cared, show us we were right to care, and make us root for our beloved misfits one last time. Ya’ll…it fucking rules. 

It’s been a while since we last saw The Guardians. We saw them off in Endgame, traveling with a disheveled and melancholic Thor, and then in Thor: Love and Thunder we saw them unload the God of Thunder, moving on to do their own thing. When the Guardians of the Galaxy  Christmas Special  came out Thanksgiving weekend last year, we got to see Knowhere (the Guardians’ base) rebuilt, and the introduction of Cosmo the Space Dog. We also fully establish that Starlord isn't doing well with the death/return/departure of Gamora. Guardians Vol. 3 picks up from there. Starlord is out of it, drinking himself into a stupor, the rest of the team is just kind of milling about in Knowhere, and the mood is pretty stale. Enter one of Marvel’s most powerful and heroes Adam Warlock, only the Warlock is here not to help, but as a repo man for the fabled High Evolutionary, the madman who turned Rocket into the creature he is today. This initial and shocking attack sends the guardians on a quest to save the life of a mortally wounded member. It’s a race against the clock film, with a little globetrotting heist film stirred in. 

Along this journey we are served up dollops of emotion. The film is framed around flashbacks illuminating Rocket’s journey under the knife and eye of the High Evolutionary. A villain portrayed brilliantly by Chukwudi Iwuji, and a villain that outshines so many villains in the MCU purely because of his acting. The High Evolutionary is a despicable, maniacal, monster of a man and each moment he is on screen your skin crawls. Truly, everyone in this movie is acting their whole asses off. Each performance is nuanced and intense, emotional and gripping. ITs something only a movie following two parts, like this one, can pull off. We all know everyone so deeply, we’ve grown to love them all, grown to admire their found family. So when this family of weirdos is put to a real test, one that threatens all of their lives in ways we haven't seen before, what comes through the cracks is this pure and natural love and passion. It works like glue throughout the film, like connective tissue, pulling each little bit you’ve ever remembered about this rag-tag team and placing it neatly in order for you to experience again. 

Rocket and Groot share their dynamic in new ways, Starlord and Gomora have some truly dynamite scenes navigating their new and nonexistent relationship, Mantis remains one of the best additions to the team as she and Drax foil each other, and Karen Gillan’s Nebula is a tremendous stand-in for the Gamora we lost in Infinity War. But this movie isn't merely old bits. It’s reimagined bits, moments illustrative of the ways family evolves and adapts. As you are recognizing the way these people interact with each other, you are also recognizing that the first time we met them, none of them would have been willing to do this. This Guardians of the Galaxy is stronger, closer, and emotionally available to each other in was the previous movies simply couldn't convincingly do with everyone. Furthermore we get more Kraglin and we get Cosmo. The Guardians of the Galaxy has changed so much in the comics over the years it begins to feel like dozens of heroes have claimed membership. In the hands of a lesser director and writer this can be a pitfall that lends to shallow writing and skin-deep characters. In James Gunn’s hands instead it lends to this tone of acceptance and love, resolute with making it clear: all types are welcome here, strange and broken as you may be. It’s downright endearing, and such a refreshing take in a world far too comfortable being unaccepting and cruel. 

James Gunn’s delicately procured playlist of songs is present again in this film, and just like the films that precede it, each song fits and feels like it was meant for each moment it is played in. Perhaps as a result or side-effect, sometimes the film’s score feels a bit out of place, but I rarely caught myself caring so much it interrupted my enjoyment of what I was watching. Perhaps because what you will be watching throughout the film is pretty outstandingly composed. Action scenes are cooperative and hectic, without losing fidelity or readability. In-fact, most of the action is so well shot and choreographed it plays out like anime fights, dripping in style and out of the box angles. I deeply appreciated this simply because superhero flicks, especially those featuring folks with similar powersets or fighting styles, can start to feel less like composed orchestras and far more like pop singles. And while Guardians Vol. 3 has its pockets lined with singles from the 80s and 90s, the format doesn't permeate or seep into the action. 

Also, for a movie in a freshly launched Phase 5 MCU, it feels like both the real and proper send off to Phase 4 and the best foot to start Phase 5 on. A dichotomy that is not easy to navigate and perhaps even harder to accomplish with a legible, parsable plot. We take everything we knew before and expand our knowledge, but we also wrap up our loose threads, tucking them into a neat-ish bow. In the process of doing this, James Gunn and his cast deliver what will end up being one of the more emotional Marvel movies released yet, content with plucking on heart strings like Redbone. 

Ya’ll, it’s just such a good movie. They did all the work they needed to beforehand, allowing them the runway to gracefully land this deeply heartfelt trilogy in a way most other properties are unable to. There are dark moments and joyous moments, funny and sad, furious and tender, and all of it fits because we know who these people are and we know how they feel. It all feels just so deeply earned and earnest. It may be a lot to take in for young fans, but this trilogy is nearly a decade old now, those fans that were young in the first film are adults now, and as those fans aged with the Guardians, the Guardians came to them with more deep and pointed stories about loss, brokenness, and family. Messages that will stick with people for years. 

If this truly marks the end of James Gunn’s involvement in the MCU then it is a masterful goodbye to some of the best characters in the whole MCU. If he decides to come back someday, well then I will be just as excited for whatever comes. But for now, go and see if the galaxy’s quirkiest band of misfits can worm their way into your emotions too. They sure found a way to pummel mine. In the best way.

It has been years since the last time anyone has seen Chief, not just in the game. The time between when we last saw him on the ship at the end of Halo 3 and the release date of Halo 4, five years have passed. Join @LubWub and @CalamityXTJane as they dig into what happened in those 5 years, where we are now, and what that means for Chief and Cortana.

Hang with the Nan and the Grand for this week's episode of #ProcGens!

You can listen to Procedural Generations on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and finally iTunes! Please Like, Share, Review, and Subscribe if you enjoy the show!

In Episode 6 Caleb and Christy dig into Bungie's last game in the Halo Universe, Halo: Reach. A doomed tale about sacrifice and the legacy of Reach, humanity's last bastion before Earth. Over their time with the Halo franchise Bungie's storytelling prowess grew to constantly. Reach is the culmination of that process. Hang out with the Nan and the Grandson on this week's episode of ProcGens!

You can listen to Procedural Generations on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and finally iTunes! Please Like, Share, Review, and Subscribe if you enjoy the show!

Happy Monday everyone! Hang with the #TNBS crew as they dive into the spooky Phasmophobia, gush about the Halo multiplayer Beta, and adjust to a new Battlefield entry. After that, they get into a deep and tricky conversation about the release state of games, buggy games at launch, and how companies can avoid these issues in the future.

Join us on this week’s interesting episode of The NerdyBits Show

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

@LubWub

@sketchsawyer

In Episode 5 Caleb and Christy dig into Bungie's first departure from the Master Chief, the stylish and moody Halo ODST. Where the previous games focused on the larger than life Spartan, ODST focuses on regular people. It also plops you into a hub world and lets you explore freely. The cast is also incredible. Hang out with the Nan and the Grandson on this weeks episode of ProcGens!

You can listen to Procedural Generations on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and finally iTunes! Please Like, Share, Review, and Subscribe if you enjoy the show!

Here we are! Episode 4 is upon us, the audio is better now! Also this is the first new episode of ProcGens in over 2 years! Can you believe it? Well, as Halo 3 would tell you...Believe. This week @LubWub and @CalamityXTJane talk about Halo 3, the conclusion of the Bungie Master Chief Trilogy (my name for it). Caleb and Christy again discuss the storytelling development of Bungie, they mourn some fallen comrades, look anxiously into the future of Halo games, and frequently get distracted by the amount each game plays into another. Join them as they save the girl and finish the fight. Get in here!

You can listen to Procedural Generations on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and finally iTunes! Please Like, Share, Review, and Subscribe if you enjoy the show!

Happy Monday everyone! Hang with the #TNBS crew as they dive into more games and movies this week. First up, the entire group finished their first playthrough of Back 4 Blood, the zombie survival shooter. From good level design to an interesting and enticing deckbuilding mechanic, the crew had a blast and cant wait to go back. Ben and Caleb gush about Dune for a while. And finally, we got a Halo campaign reveal, and we HAD to talk about that.

Join us on this week’s fun episode of The NerdyBits Show

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

@LubWub

@sketchsawyer

It feels like I've been climbing for hours. Each handhold bringing the next platform closer and closer, I keep a close eye on my stamina. What a tragedy it would be to lose all of this height if I miscalculated my ability to hold on until the next ledge. I glance over my shoulder at the towering fall beneath me, not afraid of dying, after all I have the Perpetual to slow any untimely decent, but while taking in the striated pillars of stone above the ocean of sand I can’t help but fret that I won’t make the climb. With a grunt I mount the ledge and pause briefly, letting my stamina return. The view above is daunting, I’m only halfway up this climb. I survey the possible routes, chose the most actionable, and make my way up another sheer rock wall. I’m immediately reminded of Shadow of the Colossus, though this is no living beast. Every movement a careful exercise of judgment and execution, I make my way, slowly, up to the top. At the summit lies a pair of stone silo-esque buildings adorning an abandoned courtyard. Birds line the wooden pegs jutting out from each tower. There’s a dilapidated cart, its canvas slouching between dry-rotted struts, the wheels long detached. Turns out there is nothing of material gain atop this precipice, but a short climb to the top of a silo, displacing the reposed birds, yields a different kind of award. In the distance I can see what I will later discover is the Eyrie, a collection of ancient buildings cresting the the finger-like towers of the Badlands. There is smoke emanating from one of the peaks, a telltale sign that someone has made camp there. The gently bobbing balloon tells me that someone is a Cartographer. The perilous trek to their balloon will have me traipsing the spine of a long dead titanic beast, climb at least a dozen more outcroppings, and likely glide across chasms so high above the Badlands floor that a fall would prove the end of my willingness to attempt again. Somehow, despite the risks, I make the journey. My hands aren’t sweaty, per se, but I feel my shoulders drop a good couple inches when I step up to the Cartographer. It’s a lot of work for a map and a badge, but in Sable, the stylish coming of age tale from Shedworks, the journey is literally the entire point. 

I first recall seeing Sable when it was announced in 2018. Like many others, I was immediately drawn to the Moebius influenced art and motorcycle-like gliders. In the three years since its announcement I would remember it occasionally, hoping its release was close. Video games and expectations mix like oil and water, generally. Though I would be the first to tell you it’s ok to be excited by something, in games that often culminates in disappointment. Sometimes that responsibility lies on the shoulders of the developers for talking up their project, but often it rests on the shoulders of fans. We are so prone to dumping all of our hopes and dreams into projects that catch our eye. Sable was in the middle for me. Never something I found controlling my thoughts, but a game I remained fiendishly curious about as more information dripped out of the small UK studio. 

In 2021, honestly for the majority of the history of games, one of the defining anchor points in games has been combat. Mechanically it is often what gives a game legs. Is the combat fun, is it repetitive, is it challenging? It’s far more rare to encounter a game that does away with this core mechanic entirely. Sable is not at a lack of things it could use to kill you. From giant beetles to gravity itself, yet it decided to do away with player mortality entirely. You are going to be killing anything here. And nothing is going to try to kill you. It’s refreshing. A respite from the day to day killing that possesses so many other titles. Sable isn’t about mastering the pattern of a bosses attack flurry or finding the right elemental damage to use against mobs or even jumping on enemy heads. It’s a game ostensibly about the coming of age for a young girl named Sable. It’s core mechanic: exploration. 

It’s not exactly a new premise. There are other games that put their emphasis on exploration. But where Sable differs, to me, is in its setting. Midden is a beautifully desolate place. From the Ewer, where your Ibexii tribe is settled, the the sprawling deserts that surround it: The centrally located Sansee, Redsee to the west, Hakoa to the southwest, The Wash, to the southeast, The Sodic Waste to the northeast, and the Badlands in the south-center. Each stretch of dust holds aesthetically unique elements. The Sansee is sprawling and wide, with rock outcroppings, plinths and plateaus. The Badlands a collection of towering geological formations. Redsee features deep and layered canyons. The Wash is pale, as its name would imply, and has a hauntingly foggy forest and a massive tract of titanic skeletons. Hakoa is dark-sanded and smog laden, with the incredible Crystal Plateau looming on the horizon. Finally the Sodic Waste is a graveyard of massive ship carcasses, their hollowed shells canyons of a different nature. All of these places bleed into each other with sand. The dunes of one region sweeping into the next, connecting every inch of Midden with a sense, not of loneliness, but of isolation. It’s not lonely because in your travels you will come across a smattering of settlements. In one instance, Eccria in the Redsee, you will find a full blown city. The people of Midden aren’t struggling, this isn’t a post apocalypse. Though in your crawling through fallen ships like the Dunboyne and Shadow of Neave, you will start to weave together a story that suggests these people are the survivors of a tragic and isolating event, interactions with the locals of each region suggest that life is fine. It may be tough at times, but people genuinely seem happy. This lends this almost whimsical nature to the interactions Sable has. I rarely caught myself worried or stressed about the tasks I undertook.

Sable is a coming of age story. It is imparted early on that the children of Midden, as they approach adulthood, venture out on what they call their Gliding. These young adults build (not make - an important distinction) their Gliders, hovering motorcycle-like craft, and set out into the desert to discover their life’s calling. The entire game is framed around Sable’s Gliding. Gliders are expected to explore the place that they inhabit in depth, interacting with and doing favors for the people they come across. As a plot device this works very well on its face, but the writing of Sable quickly lends more to the pull of the Gliding. As you venture out into Midden you will come across people wearing specific masks. Masks are equally utilitarian and identifying in this world. Cartographers wear masks that appear to be fashioned out of sextants and octants, Scrapper masks are shiny and fabricated from - you guessed it - scrap metal, Merchant masks are gold and opulent. There are fourteen masks in total to discover, and most of them require you to acquire badges from members of each guild. Help a Machinist, get a badge. Collect three badges and you can visit the Mask Caster and claim your mask. The cutscene that plays when you receive one of these masks from the Caster is strange and sort of uncomfortable and adds to the mysterious nature of these people. 

So off I went. I saddled up on Simoon, my glider (more on that later), and started wandering the arid drifts. 

The first thing you will notice playing Sable, as I mentioned before, is its art style. UK developer Shedworks drew heavily from the famous artist Jean Giraud (known also as Moebius). Well know for his peculiar and fascinating style, Moebius’s work is most easily compared when viewed through the lens of ligne claire (French for “clear line”), a style consisting of strong lines and bold colors with little to know hatching. Only vaguely familiar with his work I found myself looking into it more pointedly nearly eight hours into the game. It was so vivid and unique I had to see where it came from. It’s arguably an odd path to discovery, as I am sure many would have sought out the inspiring work first, but what my haphazard process prompted was a sense of awe at Shedworks’ ability to capture the Moebius style in such a large world. Dunes and canyons are painted in bold monotone when the sun is high. Bright oranges and reds punctuated by greens and yellows. As the sun sets the palette begins to bleed into itself as teals fade into deep blues and purples. Find yourself in an unsightly interior after nightfall and color will wash completely from the screen as grays become the dominating tone. There are many ways to beautifully portray an open, sandy world. What Sable does is unique and constantly gave me pause. Clearing a canyon wall to see undiscovered meandering mounds of sand and rock foregrounding a blue scale horizon is stunning. I never got tired of that experience. 

Honestly, given what I have told you so far, I had seen all I needed to see of Sable to enjoy it endlessly. Much to my surprise, what I got from the writing easily surpassed my expectations. 

Sable isn’t an exposition heavy game. In fact, most of the story that you encounter tells itself to you as you glide about the world. The enormous carcasses of ships and the AI remnant inside them tell you the story of how this population ended up where they are. The small towns and villages, each with their own merchants and Machinists tell you that these people aren’t struggling, they have adapted. The missions you go on will rarely tell a story to you in the dialogue boxes that bookend the quest. Rather, Sable tells you about its world by sending you into it. You start to become familiar with the topography, recognizing outcropping and plateaus, navigating around Kemble’s Cube, using the Bridge of the Betrayed as a reference point, or framing the world around you from the domed top of The Watch. I didn’t become as familiar with the world as I did, say, Night City from last year’s controversial Cyberpunk 2077, though forgoing fast travel for the first half of the game to better learn my surroundings paid off in similar ways. Each region in Sable carries with it a colored distinction, complemented of course by unique topography (a word I realize I am going to use a lot in this piece). With those environmental distinctions I started to piece together the “story” of the people I met. The traders at Burnt Oak Station lived a slow and easy life, soaking in the rolling amber horizon in the mornings and evenings, receding under their tents in the fire-gold afternoon. The citizens of Eccria bustled beneath their canvas sail awnings, the smell of merchant perfumes and fish wafting through the air. A tavern in the center of town, with a multileveled floor plan, the common place to drink the day’s stresses away. The dark and thunderous Seven Sisters Station, an outpost a short glide away from the ominous and beautiful Crystal Plateau, whose denizens deal with the Hakoan crystal miners, crack jokes in the dark at night over stewed pots of small game and warm drinks. None of this is explicitly stated. Still, the way that the creators of Sable constructed their world lends perfectly to the kind of storytelling I am the biggest fan of: Player-driven. 

It’s no obscured fact that I absolutely adore the XCOM games, and despite the mechanical differences between them and Sable, I love them largely for the same reason. There is a ton of diligent work put into creating an environment that, once the player is given the reins, allows them to fill it with their own little stories. Then, as you hunt down badges you learn that Machinists can hear the machines in the wilds. Not just the groan of aged and weathered metal humming in the wind, but actually hear the heartbeat of machines, attune to their souls, speak with them. There is a moment later in the game, where Sable mentions liking Simoon’s (her glider) sense of humor, and I was broadsided by this charming sense of discovery and joy. How amazing that their world works like this. To conceptualize that Machinists don’t “make” new machines, instead they find the separated parts of a machine destined to be put together and build them whole anew. It wasn’t far into my journey with Sable that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Machinist mask would be the one I chose at my Gliding’s end. I had become fully attached to Simoon, emotionally. As I found new parts for her I sought to find the parts that seemed to best bring forth her true voice. The moaning hum of Whale and crackle of Shock Crystal combination I settled on just felt, well, right. I had found her voice. I didn’t change her, I merely gave her the tools to speak freely. Truly an experience I have never felt such ownership of, nor pride in, from any other game. 

Then comes the timing of this game’s release in my personal life, something the developers could not have planned for, but nevertheless get to reap the rewards of. For the last three months I have battled sciatic nerve and lower back pain that, at times, proved to be nearly crippling. I’m not a terrifically mobile person day to day anyway, so initially I hadn’t worried about the smothering sense of immobility I was quickly confronted with. I’m a human, I like to move around. Being unable to do so without stabbing pain has been a trial of the most excruciating form. Couple that with an extremely isolationist 2020 and 2021 and sitting down to a game that asks you to simply explore and find the joy in that endeavor was nothing short of a spiritual experience. I know that may sound over exaggerated, but in truth, I really can think of no other way to put it into words. A diehard fan of Bourdain and his globetrotting lifestyle and the food experiences that came with it, I found myself relishing in the novelty of each new place on Midden. What was the food like here? I imagined savory smells wafting from merchant booths, condensation beaded glasses and sweet concoctions at the bars, the particular smell of percolated coffee in an enamel mug at campfires. I was freed by Sable to travel freely. To run and jump and climb and explore and solve and learn. 

Mark Twain is attributed with saying “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” Sable seems to have taken that sentiment and made it the core of this world’s ethos. Go out and see the world, experience what it and its many different people have to offer. Find your place among them, beside them, and then move forward into adulthood with this new appreciation for what is around you. It’s something all people should do. It’s something far too few people ever actually do. On Midden, for the young Sable, it is simply how life is lived. 

I try to write about games as personally as I can. This often leads to long breaks between written pieces because not every game speaks to me in a way I feel I have something unique to share. Sable gave me something to write about from its very first moments to its very last. A coming of age tale that has just as much to say about what it means to find your place in the world as it does reminding you to remember what it felt like to explore without fear. A world where learning is more important than fighting. A world where the remnants of the past are a guiding light to where we are going more than a reminder of how it used to be. What a tremendous way to think. What a wonderful thing to put in the hands of players. 

Happy Thursday everyone! This week you get double the podcast! This time on The NerdyBits Show the crew digs into Sable, Far Cry 6, and Back 4 Blood. The first title, Sable, is a beautiful exploration game about a young woman's coming of age journey and it completely captured Caleb's attention. Caleb has also been fighting in Yara, the Cuba stand-in that serves as a setting for Ubisoft's Far Cry 6. Finally the talk about the fun they have been having fighting off the Ridden in Turtle Rock's long awaited follow up to Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood. It's a good ol' undead slaying joyride. We also break down the Battlefield 2042 Beta and the community survey responses.

Join us on this week’s fun episode of The NerdyBits Show

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

@LubWub

@sketchsawyer

Happy Tuesday everyone! This week (technically a few weeks ago?) on The NerdyBits Show the crew celebrates the beginning of the fall release schedule. The whole crew really got into Aragami 2, a lethal little ninja game in the genre of the early 2000s. They have been ripping through levels like wraiths. After talking Aragami 2 they walk through all the games coming up that they are interested in. Boy oh boy is it a list.

Come hang out with us as we get excited about games!

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

@LubWub

@sketchsawyer

Happy Monday everyone! The TNBS crew are back with a few changes! Caleb, Ryan, and Ben return after a few weeks off to talk about the last month of games, and there is a ton to talk about. The group breaks down their experience with The Ascent, the slick isometric shooter from newcomer Neon Giant. Ben has finally played Hades, now that it is on Game Pass, and he shares his experience so far. We praise Game Pass and its stellar July and August. And finally whole crew digs into the new “The Suicide Squad” and how it is leaps and bounds better than the first one.

Also, moving forward, TNBS is just going to be the three of us. Tech is having success with his solo show, Rent Free (check it out on YouTube), and is going to focus on that. We wish him the best and hope to have him back as a guest soon!

Join us on this week’s fun episode of The NerdyBits Show

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Caleb recorded this episode with Richard a little more than a week ago and just never got to uploading it…so that’s a thing. But this conversation was a blast. Richard and Caleb have been friends for years (coworkers once), and they sit down to talk about something that both are excited about: The Future of Esports. There is a lot of potential for Esports to catapult into the general viewing population, but it isn’t quite there yet. Caleb and Richard discuss why, what they think could help games make their way into sports bars, and when they think we will start to see that happen.

Join us on this week’s fun episode of Bounty Board!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

HOW TO SUPPORT BLM

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes , Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

@LubWub @richarizzard

Happy Wednesday everyone! Got a bit of a different episode this week! Remember that podcast from a little over a month ago where Caleb talked about life and mental health and personal pursuits? Yeah, this is another one of those. Caleb is still trying to figure some things out, personally, but wanted to record another one on one episode to let you know where his head is. Talking about what the definition of a hobby is, breaking down where his head has been for the last three years, and asking people to be kinder to themselves and others.

Join us on this week’s episode of Bounty Board!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

HOW TO SUPPORT BLM

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes , Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it.

Happy Saturday everyone! The final (so far) episode of Caleb’s E3 coverage is LIVE! Join him as he interviews three team members from Chashu Entertainment as they show off their dark and punishing RPG, and make him realize he needs to up his game.

Sands of Aura, the open-world action RPG set in the dying days of a forgotten land from Chashu Entertainment, beckons adventurers to sail across a sand-swept sea. Track down the cause of a plague, engage in challenging combat, and restore the world to its former glory.

Also, check out the video interviews over on the NerdyBits YouTube channel!

Join us on this week’s episode of Bounty Board!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

HOW TO SUPPORT BLM

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes , Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it. You can also catch the episode on YOUTUBE!!!

Happy Friday everyone! The second episode of Caleb’s E3 coverage is LIVE! Come hang out with him as he interacts with the teams from Coromon and Ruin Raiders, two titles from the Freedom Games publisher.

Coromon, the modern monster-taming RPG from TRAGsoft, provides a fresh take on a beloved genre that incorporates elements from other classics with its puzzle-filled dungeons, tactical battle system, and multi-stage boss fights. Customize your trainer’s look with hundreds of options and choose between a variety of difficulty options including a built-in “Nuzlocke” option across multiple save slots.

Ruin Raiders, the anthropomorphic turn-based tactical roguelike from developer OverPowered Team (Godstrike), invites treasure hunters to recruit a squad of dangerously adorable critters. Go dungeon crawling in the demon-infested ruins. Master strategic combat, craft new technology, and delve deeper into the abyss discovering the mysteries lurking between nail-biting bosses.

Also, check out the video interviews over on the NerdyBits YouTube channel!

Join us on this week’s episode of Bounty Board!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

HOW TO SUPPORT BLM

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes , Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it. You can also catch the episode on YOUTUBE!!!

Happy Thursday everyone! The first episode of Caleb’s E3 coverage is LIVE! Come hang out with him as he interacts with the teams from Anuchard and Monster Outbreak, two titles from the Freedom Games publisher.

Anuchard, the civilization restoration action RPG from developer stellarNull, follows the Bellweilder on their quest to return lost souls home and clear a mysterious dungeon deep underground. Defeat enemies in action-packed combat by delivering powerful knockback attacks and solve brain-teasing puzzles to progress.

Monster Outbreak, a retro-inspired 2D tower defense survival game from developer GameMunchers, spawns waves of menacing monsters to invade humanity’s dimension. Craft and enchant weapons like swords, bows, and magical staffs to prepare for incoming threats while fortifying bases for recurring sieges. Team up with friends in online co-op challenges against dangerous bosses like a giant rock golem!

Also, check out the video interviews over on the NerdyBits YouTube channel!

Join us on this week’s episode of Bounty Board!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

HOW TO SUPPORT BLM

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes , Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it. You can also catch the episode on YOUTUBE!!!

Happy Monday everyone! Got a bit of a special episode this week! With E3 looming on the horizon, Caleb thought it was a good idea to finally sit down and record another episode of Bounty Board. The last few months have been kinda tough and he wanted to let people in on what has been going on, his plans for future Bounty Board stuff, and also to catch you up on what he’s been playing.

Also, E3 is this week! With all the possibilities darting around, he HAD to chat about his excitement. Listen in and catch up with Caleb and get ready for a great week of game announcements. Caleb even has a few announcements of his own!

Join us on this week’s episode of Bounty Board!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

HOW TO SUPPORT BLM

You can listen to us below, or on iTunes , Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play! So whether you have an Apple or Android device, we are available for streaming and download. Give us a rating and a subscribe, we would really appreciate it. You can also catch the episode on YOUTUBE!!!