Listen Now

It is our Game of the Year extravaganza! Host Kevin VanOrd, Carolyn Petit, Tom Mc Shea, and special guest Matt Downham pontificate on the games that meant the most to them this year. On the list: The Witcher 3, Life is Strange, Her Story, LEGO Dimensions, Shadowrun: Hong Kong, and much more. As for what most disappointed us most in 2015, well, sit back, take a listen, and try your best to keep the rage at bay!

Host Kevin VanOrd doesn't do a very good job of explaining what the title of this week's podcast means when the time comes, but it still comes from a good place. Luckily, Tom Mc Shea is on vacation this week, so he's not there to give Kevin the side-eye. Carolyn Petit made it, however, and has a lot to say about all sorts of great games. Let's count 'em up, shall we? Read Only Memories. Axiom Verge. The Swindle. Rocket League. But leave it to Kevin (of course) to dampen some of the fun with critiques of the year-end AAA extravaganza. Namely, Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, and Star Wars: Battlefront. The good news is that he's uberexcited about Just Cause 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Let's hope they live up to his hopes and dreams!

We're a little late, but who can blame us? So many good games are coming--or have come--out! Assassin's Creed takes a prominent role once again this week, but host Kevin VanOrd has plenty of strong feelings about Halo 5's campaign. Carolyn Petit, meanwhile, digs deep into Tales from the Borderlands, while Tom just wished everything were on the Vita, as per yuzh. We recorded on Sunday, so you'll have to wait until next week to hear our thoughts on Rise of the Tomb Raider and Fallout 4, sadly. The good news is that we've got two quizzes this week,m so if you like Call of Duty and game soundtracks, you'll find plenty of fun in this week's Wild Guesses.

It's that Assassin's Creed time of year, and who better than host Kevin VanOrd to offer his early impressions of the newest game in a series so dear to his heart that he permanently inked his body to share his love? It's a good thing Carolyn Petit is there to drag him back to reality. Also: Tom Mc Shea shares his thoughts on Lifeline, Kevin goes off on a big rant about else Heart.Break(), and the team promotes podcasts that aren't this one for some reason.

It is the best and most musical episode of Wild Guesses yet, thanks to two special guests: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate Composer Austin Wintory, and soprano Holly Sedillos. Host Kevin VanOrd and regulars Tom Mc Shea and Carolyn Petit get insight into the world of video game composing and performing while listening to Austin's jaw-dropping orchestrations and Holly's rapturous solos. We also put Austin to the test in this week's soundtrack quiz, featuring Japanese role-playing games, pontificate on the fantastic Her Story, and contemplate the relationship between creator and consumer, courtesy of more Beginner's Guide discussion.

What a treat! Tom Mc Shea is out for the week! Just kidding, Tom. We love you. Host Kevin VanOrd and regular Carolyn Petit are there to pick up the slack, however, as are guests Justin Calvert and Scott Benson, who prove themselves knowledgeable about game music and box art, which for the basis of this week's quizzes. Also on the docket is developer Davey Wreden's The Beginner's Guide, which inspires a lot of discussion. What is the creator's responsibility to his audience, and the audience's responsibility to the creator? We don't have all the answers, but we certainly aren't afraid to look for them.

Host Kevin VanOrd makes up for last week's quiz-less episode with an all-quiz episode! That means not just one, but two entire soundtrack Quizzes, not to mention Meta Game and a whole lot more. Of course, guests Carolyn Petit and Tom Mc Shea can't resist the occasional tangent, so don't be surprised to hear mentions of Else Heart.Break(), Divinity, Spaceteam, and a few other odds and ends.

Let's cut to the chase: We're all playing a lot of Super Mario Maker, and host Kevin VanOrd has to be a curmudgeon about the whole thing. Luckily, Carolyn Petit and Tom Mc Shea have enough enthusiasm to squash Kevin's Eeyore act. Also on the plate: does Metal Gear Solid V make good use of its open world? What will the big publications name as their Games of the Year? And how awesome is Love in a Dangerous Spacetime? The bad news? No quizzes this week. Seeing Empire of the Sun live tired Kevin out.

The audio is a little sloppy this week. Kevin blames it on his own laziness, which is also the reason there's only one quiz in this episode. But what an episode it is! Carolyn Petit details her real-life not-a-video-game adventure, as well as all there is love about totally-a-video-game Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. Tom Mc Shea waxes philosophical about Rare, and explains that he doesn't like The Banner Saga's art style. (What!?) Kevin VanOrd is on hand too, of course, too host, to hum, and to hunger for Caro's donut, which she totally doesn't share with anyone.

So how good is Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain? Pretty darn good. Also: lots of movie talk, courtesy of Kevin and Tom's love of Baz Luhrmann, and appearances by Mad Max: Fury Road, Riddick, and more. Caro is out hiking, but games writer and podcaster Josiah Renaudin is on hand to fill in the gap. And thank goodness, because the music quiz and ESRB Ratings Description Theater are best with a bit of competition involved.

You just don't understand us. You don't understand why El Shaddai is so great, so it's up to Tom Mc Shea to remind you. You don't understand how Metroid: Other M ruined Samus, so Carolyn Petit will get you up to speed. And you certainly don't understand host Kevin VanOrd, who still hasn't played P.T. even though it's installed on his PS4. This week: Halo 5 has no split-screen! Tom doesn't fight Deathclaws--he just avoids them! Also, the Zero-Thousand-Dollar Pyramid, and a soundtrack quiz all about the month of August.

Developer and artist Scott Benson (Night in the Woods) joins Kevin VanOrd, Carolyn Petit, and Tom Mc Shea to take a Destiny Quiz, celebrate the announcement of Divinity: Original Sin 2, and talk--seemingly endlessly--about Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. (Things get a little spoilery here, so proceed at your own risk.) Fun fact: none of us like Everybody's Gone to the Rapture much. But we do like the soundtrack quiz, so we made sure to include one.

Hello friends and enemies! Kevin, Tom, and Caro have found their way back to each other, just in time to create the follow-up to GameSpot GamePlay, Wild Guesses! In our inaugural episode, the trio considers Destiny's new voice actor Nolan North, Palmer Luckey's goofy TIME cover, and whether knowing Kratos' ashy history makes you a better human being. Also: the Soundtrack Quiz and the Box Art Guessing Game.