The biggest event of the year marked our official evolution from Video Game Choo Choo to Gamesline, including a new look, new format—but still the same old us—and it only went up from there!

It may be cheesy to say it was all possible Thanks to Viewers Like You, but we are truly grateful for all of our longstanding supporters for sticking around and we can only give a warm welcome to all of our new ones.

So thanks for hopping on and staying on board!

Podcasts

We wrapped up our last podcast as “Video Game Choo Choo”, a timely end as we mourned and clutched on to the memory of (former) twin flame Gamer Goo’s own rebranding to something sinister.

We debuted our first podcast as “Gamesline” as Wizards of the Coast continues to be cartoonishly diabolical and getting the first glimpses into Armored Core VI.

We started gathering some friends to join us on our game chats, such as ROBBYDUDE, Ty Galiz-Rowe, Trex and LumberJackson. We have been inviting even more cool folks over, as John and Scott even took on the liberties of chatting with the Duke Nukem Forever: Restoration Foundation for Starlight Car.

We unexpectedly have gone nuts over a Pinocchio game, and now have to live in a world where Family Guy is in Fortnite.

In Unlimited Rail Works, our anime podcast, we continue to be haunted by more impending isekai nonsense and a fresh start of stinkers by watching the FLCL sequels. We continue to sabotage ourselves with the insanity of Teekyu and beg the universe who asked for another Smartphone isekai season.

We finally have a period of normalcy, though not too long after are faced with the release Migi and Dali and another old pick with Hellsing Ultimate. We end with a very artistic watch of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.

Patreons have gained more fun exclusives, on top of first dibs on even more special spoilercasts, but a new wrestling-dedicated podcast called The Clothesline.

Reviews

Rose calls out The Callisto Protocol for its lack of substance.

Similarly, John is disappointed by the potential that ANNO: Mutationem missed, with little to say about SCPs.

Scott ran through the recent history of wrestling games and why everything was riding on AEW: Fight Forever, a game that did not deliver.

Franny relishes in grief and memory through Mojiken Studios’ A Space for the Unbound, while also feeling the love for language in Chants of Sennaar.

Several of us were impressed by Lies of P, and Maverick validates this with his own review of the Soulslike game.

Features and Essays

Solon went full meta on the just as strange followup to Big Z Studios’ Hypnospace Outlaw, the in-universe game, Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath.

Franny taps into the zeitgeist on how WASTE EATER says so much within so little playtime.

Spencer reminisced on a playthrough experience of Pathologic.

Walker ponders the setbacks on limited time events and breaks down the pivotal role that music has in fighting games.

Videos

We popped off spring with our first, live ceremony rendition of our annual Game of the Year—and officially it marked off as our last game of the year as “Video Game Choo Choo.”

The teamwork of Solon and Franny brought some pretty intense coverage of PAX West 2022.

Scott took to the streams, spooking himself by trying out Hideo Kojima’s P.T. for the very first time. Even more spookier, is that people also really wanted us to play more Redfall, much to our dismay.

He also took us on a grand return to the Together BnB and the caverns of Gollum’s sick, twisted mind. #GollumGame

And as 2023 came to an end, so sadly came an end to Solon’s tenure on the track—but he managed to grant us one last big gift by also covering PAX West 2023 with the returning assistance of Franny.

The post Gamesline’s Highlights of 2023 appeared first on Gamesline.

The URW crew takes quite a start to the new year with Maverick’s pick of FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative, the two follow up series by Production I.G. to the original 2001 Gainax OVA. While we brace a lot of the low points expected, we come through the tunnel with a greater appreciation of what this series, franchise even, does well and how that energy could potentially show up in the upcoming sequels FLCL: Grunge and FLCL Shoegaze.

The OP for this episode is “Star Overhead” while the ED is “Thank you, my twilight” both by The Pillows.

If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask

You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone

Thanks to @harlequinwheels for our show art!

Subscribe via iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

The post Unlimited Rail Works Episode 104A: FLCL Progressive and Alternative appeared first on Gamesline.