Bonus Episode 243: Must-Play Games We're Ashamed We Never Played

Jake has never played Baldur's Gate 3. Raz has been on his case about it for years. This is that episode.

We go through the essential games from the last several years — BG3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Elden Ring, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Disco Elysium, Hades, Balatro, It Takes Two, and more — and declare our statuses. Played, bounced off it, bought and never installed, or just... never had a good reason. We defend ourselves where we can and take our lumps where we can't.

Is "I don't want to play a pre-made character" a valid excuse for skipping RDR2? Is the turn-based combat in BG3 enough to keep someone out for years? Is Balatro even worth playing if you don't care about story? We get into all of it.

0:00 Intro — New mic settings, new background, welcome to 243

0:39 Topic intro — Claude titled it "The Backlog of Shame"

3:55 Jake confesses — never played Baldur's Gate 3

6:01 Raz's BG3 pitch — why he keeps pushing Jake to play it

9:47 Setting the rules — what counts as a must-play game?

11:42 Culturally dominant vs. must-play — GTA, FIFA, Fortnite

17:09 The List begins — Baldur's Gate 3 breakdown

21:59 Jake's BG3 defense — D&D unfamiliarity, turn-based hesitation

30:37 Red Dead Redemption 2 — Raz explains why he bounced

41:27 Elden Ring — both have played it, debate its universality

52:22 Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — brief, neither cares much

56:30 Disco Elysium — neither has played it, Raz curious

58:27 Hades / Hades II — Jake's roguelike hesitation explained

1:04:05 It Takes Two — why two guys won't play a couples game

1:08:24 Balatro — opportunity cost, Jake pushes back on Claude's case

1:17:54 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — surprise 2025 GOTY contender

1:24:00 Blue Prince — puzzle roguelike, neither has played it

1:27:52 Bonus picks — games Claude missed (Tarkov, Stellaris, 4X)

1:30:52 Tarkov — Raz made Jake buy a PC for this

1:31:53 Fortnite — Raz used to love it, now can't believe he did

1:33:07 Listener questions — what must-play game did we miss?

1:34:24 Horror games + Phasmo — sitting in the library uninstalled

1:35:29 Portal + The Talos Principle — Raz's puzzle game recommendations

1:38:11 Outro — listener feedback on Jake's mic, thanks