Westen starts off by introducing the new permanent crew of the show, Andrew and David. From there, the guys talk about Mixtape, MOUSE: PI For Hire, Vampire Crawlers, Replaced and Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Librarian. They also rank their top 5 games from the 2020s that will age the worst.

0:00 Intro

06:22 Mixtape

26:00 MOUSE P.I. For Hire

33:55 Vampire Crawlers

44:30 REPLACED

49:45 Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library!

55:28 Games of the 2020s That Will Age the Worst

Video Links:

Mixtape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQoEd5rnxiQ

MOUSE P.I. For Hire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5aA150iHkw

Vampire Crawlers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mfFLQL3lVk&t=1s

REPLACED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YheMqHoeHVc

Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh81e2oVZbM

Articles Referenced: https://bignerdgaming.com/2026/05/08/indie-gaming-roundup-mouse-pi-for-hire-vampire-crawlers-and-tombwater/

https://bignerdgaming.com/2026/05/05/the-top-10-games-of-the-2020s-that-will-age-the-worst/

Westen:

https://bignerdgaming.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/bignerdgaming.bsky.social

https://x.com/BigNerdGaming https://www.threads.com/@bignerdgaming https://www.facebook.com/people/Big-Nerd-Gaming/61555495498714/

David:

https://bsky.app/profile/dsundy.bsky.social

https://x.com/david_dsundy

Andrew:

https://bsky.app/profile/themcmr.bsky.social

https://x.com/TheMCMR

6:30 - Discussions of the games we are currently playing. Kingdom of Night, Ball x Pit, Outer Worlds 2, and Silent Hill f are discussed.

25:00 - Our top 5 most overlooked games this year, plus some honorable mentions.

You can check out Chike's awesome YouTube page which focuses on indie games at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/@bassicfun78

Also, be sure to check out www.bignerdgaming.com all month for tons of other end of year lists and coverage.

On episode 2, Westen and Paul from Boss Fights discuss what they are playing right now, and then rank their top 5 Final Fantasy games.

0:00- Introduction To Paul

3:00- Thoughts on "Trails in the Sky First Chapter", "Hollow Knight: Silksong", and "Hades 2"

15:00 Our Top 5 Final Fantasy games. Including one dishonorable mention and two honorable mentions.

You can find Paul on Substack: https://bossfights.substack.com/

Also, Westen was recently on the Stage Select Podcast. You can check out that episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tF5moO9IWx7X1K2pqkZ5m?si=cTLKEyovQMW7WOSRrTJHEw

From there, they go into their six biggest disagreements with game critics so far this year. With 3 positive disagreements, and 3 negative disagreements. Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed the video!

You can find Andres in a bunch of different places!

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndresPlays93

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/andresplays93

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andresplays.bsky.social

Game of the Year 6:00

Best Game Direction: 11:50

Best Narrative: 14:54

Best Art Direction: 21:50

Best Score and Music: 25:30

Best Audio Design: 32:00

Best Performance: 37:10

Best Independent Game: 48:50

Best Action Game: 56:37

Best Action Adventure Game: 1:03:12

Best RPG: 1:11:28

Best Family Game: 1:21:50

Best Sim/Strategy: 1:25:59

Best Multiplayer: 1:29:30

Best Accessibility: 1:34:53

Wrap Up: 1:41:00

Make sure to check out www,deargamers.net for more great content from Michaela and Jason. Also, keep an eye on www.bignerdgaming.com later this week for Westen's final predictions for all of these categories.