The inside story of how Game Informer rose from the dead | Friends Per Second Ep #66
PLUS: Our thoughts on AC Shadows and an apology from Lucy
Hey Users!
Well, this is awkward. First off, an apology! With GDC and a last-minute trip to New York (go see Dorian Gray!), I forgot to write up the last issue of the newsletter. I’m sorry, I will be better, here’s a picture of my cat as penance:
With that being said, now onto this episode! We’re once again joined by Alanah Pearce to talk about GDC and react to the Ubisoft Tencent news. We also chat to Alex Van Aken from the newly reforged Game Informer about the publication springing back to life.
Thanks for being the best Users around, we appreciate the heck out of ya.
Games mentioned: Disco Elysium, Papers, Please, NBA, Balatro, Solitaire, PGA, NFL, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Monument Valley, Marvel Snap, Vampire Survivors, Baldur’s Gate 2, Call of Duty Mobile, Unpacking
Misc. mentions: An unexpected Foo Fighters song, GDC, IGF Awards, Touch Arcade
Ubisoft News and AC Shadows Thoughts
We recorded this episode on the day that Ubisoft announced it was forming a subsidiary for its most successful franchises and getting a huge investment from Tencent. While the ripples of the deal won’t be felt until later in the year, many Ubisoft employees who aren’t working on Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, or Rainbow Six are anxious about the move. We talk about the pros and cons of the deal with the facts we had at the time, and discuss our time with Ubisoft’s latest: Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Games mentioned: Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Beyond Good and Evil 2, Rainbow Six Siege, For Honor, Valiant Hearts, Child of Light, AC Black Flag, AC Syndicate, AC Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima, AC Odyssey, AC Origins, Call of Duty, Breath of the Wild, The Sims, God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 2, Rise of the Ronin, Like A Dragon, AC Mirage
Misc mentions: Middle-earth Enterprises, Alien: Romulus, Corridor Crew, Lisa Needs Braces, Jack the Ripper Museum, Sideshow Bob, Chernobyl, Desperate Housewives, Bennett Foddy, Shogun
I asked Jake for the dog island pic but he was travelling, I’ll post it on Bluesky, give us a follow there!
User question #1 - Izzy Scribbles
What is an example of something that you are very skilled at and thus has become a bit trivial?
While we may not be completing no-hit Elden Ring runs on the regular, we are some capital G gamers on this podcast, so Izzy’s question let us boast a little bit about our skills (that sometimes help pay the bills).
Games mentioned: Monster Hunter Wilds, Monster Hunter World Iceborne, Returnal, Gradius, Overwatch, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Rocket League, Mass Effect 2
Misc. mentions: One Punch Man, tennis, pogo stick, crochet
Interview with Alex Van Aken About the Rebirth of Game Informer
Good news in the games industry has been hard to come by recently, and so we were delighted to hear that Game Informer (and all its staff) was coming back. We brought Senior Video Editor Alex Van Aken back on to the show, this time under much happier circumstances, to talk about how and why the iconic brand is being revived.
Games mentioned: The Casting of Frank Stone, Metroid, Portal
Misc. mentions: Gunzilla Games, Gamegroove, MinnMax
User question #2 - Matthew Wakeham
What’s the most surprising slang/phrase you’ve heard one of your cohosts say?
Prepare for a very in-depth description of the way the letter “E” can be interpreted by people in the North East of England.
Games mentioned: Atomfall, Thank Goodness You’re Here
Misc. mentions: The Sopranos
What we’ve been playing
Ralph’s finished Monster Hunter Wilds
Jake has been playing Atomfall (and picking up some British slang from it)
Lucy isn’t digging inZOI (but promises to give it another chance) and Spilled!
Alanah’s been replaying It Takes Two
Games mentioned: Atomfall, Sniper Elite, The Witness, Fallout New Vegas, BioShock, Atomic Heart, Resident Evil 4, It Takes Two, inZOI, The Sims, Rise of the Golden Idol, Tunic, Paralives, Life By You, DOOM The Dark Ages, Marvel Snap, Monster Hunter Rise, Spilled!, Dredge, Blue Prince, Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, Outer Wilds, Obra Dinn, Captain America, The Punisher
If you’ve got burning questions you’d like us to answer on the show, email us or drop them in the comments below!
Show and tell
Ralph watched Chinatown
Jake has been rewatching Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Lucy watched The Picture of Dorian Gray on Broadway
Alanah has been watching Adolescence on Netflix
Movies mentioned: Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Tron, Water World,
Misc. mentions: 24, Succession, Oh Mary!, Death Becomes Her, Scooby Doo, Disney World,
As always, thank you so, so much for reading.
We’ve got an exciting couple of weeks coming up and we can’t wait to tell you all about it! <3 xoxo
So glad Alanah has been joining the podcast lately! I’ve always enjoyed her on the podcast.
Great episode and great Substack. Thank you Lucy!
Australian here. We call it a torch. Ralph is wrong, Alanah and Mum is correct. Settled.