Video summary

AJSN WK38A - WOLVERINE REVIEWS BAD!, SONY Breaks Up W/ Kojima?, Wardogs 1 Million!, Dawnwalker 2 GO!

Main summary

Key takeaways

Gaming

Storyline / Narrative Focus

  • Wolverine (coming tomorrow): The hosts discuss upcoming impressions/reviews of Insomniac’s Wolverine, emphasizing it as a directed, mostly linear action experience rather than an open-world adventure.
  • No detailed plot beats are provided in the subtitles; the narrative discussion is mainly about tone/quality of execution (e.g., gore expected vs. delivered, story pacing/handholding).

Gameplay Highlights & Critiques (as discussed)

Wolverine

  • Linearity vs. open world: Compared directly to Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, Wolverine is described as more linear and “holding your hand,” with less breadth than open-world titles.
  • Combat / “Wolverine fantasy” expectations:
    • The hosts expected more dismemberment/gore and badass moments based on the tone of Wolverine media.
    • Reported reaction: less dismemberment than hoped, though they still intend to judge it personally when they play.

War Dogs (Early Access)

  • General appeal: The hosts repeatedly praise that it’s a military shooter they enjoy, noting strong early adoption despite issues.
  • Mode structure: It’s described as based on Arma, specifically compared to “King of the Hill”-style gameplay.
  • Early Access concerns:
    • The big worry highlighted is grinding and wipes (progress resets).
    • Strategy implication: expect wipes to affect long-term progression; server/meta stabilization will take time.

Strategies / Key Tips Mentioned

  • War Dogs (wipes + Early Access expectations):
    • Assume wipes may reset progress/meta, so don’t over-invest in long-term builds until stability improves.
    • The hosts imply the game’s best value is tied to early fun, but long-term satisfaction depends on how devs handle grind, servers, and anti-cheat.
  • No Man’s Sky (free updates theme):
    • No specific gameplay steps are described, but the update angle is that it’s continually expanding core sandbox features (space flying/building) without monetization pressure for the cited additions.

News / Industry Takeaways Tied to Games

  • No Man’s Sky: Praised for ongoing improvements over a decade, including adding space building/flying through free updates.
  • Star Citizen:
    • Hiring a campaign manager is framed as marketing/campaign management rather than content polishing.
    • Mentions upcoming private/controlled events (NDA, pre-approved people, positive-facing demos).
  • War Dogs performance metrics:
    • Reported: over 1 million copies in first 24 hours, and a peak concurrent player count around 428,000 during server issues.
    • Early access roadmap is expected to be long, but the hosts argue it shouldn’t stay in early access too long.
  • Marathon (Bungie): Used mainly as a comparison point for player counts, highlighting how wipes and retention matter.
  • Sony + Kojima (relationship break):
    • Major discussion about Sony allegedly choosing not to continue partnership with Hideo Kojima on his next project (described as a stealth-action/spies-style game, framed as “not Metal Gear” but in that vein).
    • The hosts argue Sony wants live-service/microtransaction-friendly prospects, while Kojima is positioned as higher-risk / longer / more creative.
    • “Devil’s advocate” notes: Sony’s recent financial/brand losses tied to live-service failures, and the idea that Sony may view Kojima as not guaranteed to meet earnings expectations.
  • Wider live-service criticism (Redfall → Arcane → Black Pony):
    • A postmortem is discussed where Redfall co-director(s) and leadership criticize forcing studios into live-service when it wasn’t their strength.
    • Black Pony Immersive is mentioned as a new studio entity coming from Arcane Austin, with an indicated focus on their core strengths.

Key Figures / Gamers / Sources Mentioned (at end)

  • Angry Joe Show (hosts: Joe, Alex)
  • Hideo Kojima
  • Xbox (as a platform partner in discussion)
  • Bungie (re: Marathon; also “Robert just said” appears in the subtitles)
  • Insomniac Games (re: Wolverine and comparison titles)
  • No Man’s Sky developers (referenced generally)
  • Star Citizen / Squadron 42 team (referenced generally)
  • Arcane (Arcane Austin) and Harvey Smith (Redfall co-director)
  • Ricardo Bear (writer/co-director mentioned re: Redfall postmortem quote)
  • Black Pony Immersive
  • IG / IGN (mentioned in context of review scoring)
  • SkillUp (named as someone who did not recommend the game)

Original video