BAH-lah-troh

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Riley discuss the auspicious occasion of three different game development studios – Gearbox, Saber, and Toys For Bob – all escaping from beneath the thumbs of layoff-prone owners in one day. Then we soberly reflect on mass layoffs at both Sony and EA – the other side of the coin in a week that seemed determined to sum up exactly where the video game industry is at right now. After that we move on to our impressions of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is actually out now. It’s good! And weirdly janky for how beautiful it looks. Chris appreciates that Square Enix has dialed up – to borrow a phrase from long-defunct video game magazine GamePro – the “fun factor.” He also likes its take on the Chocobo theme, which he calls “fart music.” Nathan likes the in-game card game. That naturally segues into a conversation about the hot new digital card game du jour, Balatro (pronounced “BAH-lah-troh”), and why it got so popular seemingly overnight. Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath ! About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker…