Fringe shows, baybeeeeee
Hello! I'm doing some game-y shows at Edinburgh Fringe and thought you might want to come along. And, as a special treat, I'll tell ya all about the best game I've played in ages...
Hi! Lots of exciting things on the horizon, none more than the THREE Edinburgh Fringe shows I’m involved with this August.
1.) Blood on The Clocktower: Live!
You know it! I imagine everyone reading knows about the second-best game of social deduction - now it’s coming to the fringe with a whole host of great comedian guest players, including some of your faves from NRB! It’s on from 18th to 27th (except 24th) at 10pm, and tix are going FAST! Get yours HERE!
We’ve put some fun-ass audience interaction in this one. You’re gonna love it. We are also filming a few and will be streaming post-Fringe for those not in Scotland.
2.) Werewolf: Live
Now that we’ve talked about the second-best social deduction game, it’s time to talk the best! Werewolf is the grand daddy bad boy of bluffing games, and I’ve been doing it as a live comedy show for YEARS. It’s so much fun, and once per year at the Fringe we do a huge charity special in a massive venue with big-name comedians battling it out to see who’s the best goddamn liar in the building. All proceeds to Kidney Research UK. My dad’s had kidney issues for my entire life; this is a great charity close to my heart.
Always a highlight, if you’re anywhere near Edinburgh during the Fringe this is a must-see! 11:15pm, ONE NIGHT ONLY, 24th August, big purple cow. This one’s gonna be off the chain. Tix also selling suspiciously fast, book here now!
3.) Grubby Little Mitts: Hello, Hi
Those cheeky Grubbs (Rosie & Sullivan from NRB, who I’m going to assume you know if you’re reading this) are back, and I’m directing them once again. This is a wild, weird, very funny bit of sketch comedy nonsense that I’m very proud of. We put in a lot of work to get here, and I’m really happy with the result.
Come see it at 3:50pm every day (except 15th). If you come in the next few days I’ll be there too! Tix here!
The best game I’ve played in ages is…
Well, hold on. There’s a lot of candidates for this.
A Plague Tale: Requiem was a weird and fun sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence, with a really interesting setting that you don’t see in videogames (14th century France). It absolutely shits itself towards the end, (which I kind of loved) and is completely all over the place, but this series is just such a weird little offshoot of The Last Of Us with a focus on stealth that I can’t help but love it.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a fantastic XCOM-esque strategy game with a cast of Marvel characters that I thought I was thoroughly sick of, but the writing is fresh and dynamic and coupled with a fascinating deck-builder / strategy battler which I had an amazing time with. It’s very long and the pacing is a bit lacking towards the end, and there’s SO MUCH DIALOGUE, but the gameplay is top drawer. I could have done with more variety in missions but it’s small gripe. This game rocks.
Special mention to Dredge, a fun indie fishing game that’s definitely not sinister or Lovecraftian at all. Just don’t go out beyond the lights after dark…
The fishing is really fun and relaxing, which is an odd thing to say when this is a game about creeping horror. The way it blends the two is really impressive. Inventory management is some of the best I’ve seen since Resident Evil 4. Dredge doesn’t quite stick the landing, but there’s some really great atmosphere in here. It’s short and strangely chill, perfect for Switch or Steam Deck.
But what is the BEST game I’ve played in a long time?
No question.
This bad boy.
It’s a detective game where you’re presented with still screens, slightly wobbling dioramas of tragedy, murder and death, and you have to figure out what on earth happened. You collect words by clicking on the surroundings, and then are able to use them to fill in the gaps in sentences about what’s happened.
eg “[BLANK] was killed by [BLANK] using the [BLANK].” Once you’ve pieced together the whole story, you finish the level and move onto the next one.
It’s simple but profoundly engaging, and requires real detective work and deductive reasoning to piece together these bizarre, beautiful cases. If you liked Obra Dinn and Her Story, you’ll looove Golden Idol. I found it completely engaging. It’s also got a fascinating plot revolving around the titular golden idol and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s short, but great. Plus there’s DLC. Get it now!
What have you been streaming, Jon?
Thanks for asking! Viv and I played through Donkey Kong Country on the SNES Mini Classic, which was a blast! You can catch up with the VODs on my Twitch now! Don’t forget to follow if you haven’t already.
Some powerful fan art was made of us, which I simply must share so you’re as upset as I am. I forget which war criminal is responsible for this, make yourselves known so we may thank / fear you!
We have a lovely singing stream coming with little baby Holly Musgrave on the evening of Friday 11th, put it in yer diaries!
Thanks for reading!
That’s all from me, speak to ya soon.
Don’t forget to book your tix to Blood On The Clocktower: Live, Werewolf: Live, and Grubby Little Mitts if you’re in and around Edinburgh this month. And if you come to a show, come say hi!
Follow me on Twitch, and why not sub if you’ve got a spare pfennig or two (or if you’ve got Amazon Prime you can do it for free. FREE!)
And play Case Of The Golden Idol! Or don’t. I’m not your real dad.
Sub here if you don’t already!
BYEEEEEE