Ian, Al, and Tim review 2025’s gaming landscape, from digging literal holes to EA’s $15 billion Saudi sale, debating whether Doom needs a story, why Assassin’s Creed Shadows sparked controversy, and completely forgetting the Switch 2 existed.
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This episode surveys the gaming year 2025, covering standout titles like Tempest Rising’s Command & Conquer throwback and Battlefield 6’s refreshing FPS experience, alongside catastrophic failures like Leslie Benzies’ Mind’s Eye and the toxic cesspit of Broken Arrow’s community. The discussion explores whether FPS games need stories, why remasters dominated releases, the EA buyout implications, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ bizarre protagonist choice that opened DEI floodgates. Three grumpy gamers conclude 2025 was a year of safe sequels and remasters with a few genuine surprises—and one console launch they completely forgot happened.
Grumpy Old Gamer Podcast – Episode 9 Show Notes
Episode Title: The Games and Events of 2025
Hosts: Ian (host), Al, Tim
Episode Length: ~38 Minutes
Episode Summary
In the ninth episode of the Grumpy Old Gamer podcast, Ian leads Al and Tim through a comprehensive review of 2025’s gaming year. Starting with Ian’s obsession with literally digging holes and progressing through Doom’s unnecessary narrative, they examine which games succeeded, which catastrophically failed, and why the industry seems terrified of original ideas. The conversation covers Battlefield 6’s community-driven development, Broken Arrow’s racism-fueled toxicity, the Assassin’s Creed Shadows protagonist controversy, EA’s massive Saudi buyout, and why three gaming podcasters completely forgot a major console launched this year. The hosts passionately debate whether games need stories, if remasters justify their existence, and why 2025 felt like gaming on autopilot with occasional flashes of brilliance.
Key Topics Discussed
Games Played in 2025
A Game About Digging a Hole (Ian’s Pick):
- Released February 2025
- PC game about literally digging a hole
- Vacuum cleaner to suck up dirt
- Find items to sell for upgrades
- Buy jetpacks, better equipment
- “Very stupid, but I assure you, sir, it is very fun”
Gameplay Loop:
- Jump in hole, dig
- Find rocks, metals, resources
- Run out of energy
- Go to garage, recharge
- Buy upgrades
- Repeat
- “You’re quite simple, aren’t you?” – Al’s response
Doom: The Dark Ages (Tim):
- Got it through 30-day Game Pass trial
- Mick Gordon not involved but soundtrack still “banging”
- Doom Guy dressed as medieval knight
- Still using miniguns
- Flying on mechanical dragons
- “Fun” overall experience
- Won’t get Game Pass again after trial
The Story Problem:
- “It does now have a plot, and it’s silly”
- Doom never needed narrative
- “Just an excuse to go and blast shit”
- Quake didn’t need story either
- Industry pushing narratives where unnecessary
- Stories cost “hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars”
- ROI questionable for FPS story investment
Far Cry Comparison:
- Original Far Cry: happy shooting on beach
- Added storyline, lost interest
- Similar pattern to Doom adding story
Half-Life 2 Counterpoint:
- Story-driven game
- Didn’t need story to enjoy gameplay
- City 17 and 7-hour war context unnecessary
- Could enjoy without narrative understanding
- Story valuable but not essential
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (Tim):
- Slow build like first game
- “Really good”
- Similar genre to Oblivion Remaster
Oblivion Remaster (Tim):
- “Really well done”
- Worth the remaster effort
- Lumped with Kingdom Come as similar but different
Other 2025 Remasters Mentioned:
- Last of Us remaster
- Metal Gear Solid remaster
- Final Fantasy Tactics remaster
- “There’s always a Final Fantasy getting remastered”
- God of War Definitive Edition
Battlefield 6 (Tim’s Highlight):
- “Great game”
- Refreshing FPS alternative to Call of Duty
- “Not saying Call of Duty is a great FPS”
- Developers actually listen to community
- Test changes based on feedback
- “Eye opening to see what if you make a game for PC and just next-gen consoles”
- Super immersive, fun with friends
- “Whale of a time”
Why Not Bought Yet:
- Rinsed it during trial, got bored
- Friends on holiday (Canada, up north)
- Waiting until after Christmas shopping
- Will buy it as Christmas treat
- Squad up when everyone returns
Red Sack (Battlefield Battle Royale):
- Free-to-play Battlefield 6 BR mode
- Tim hasn’t tried it
- “Fed up with Battle Royale”
- Call of Duty Warzone, Fortnite, countless others
- Genre fatigue complete
- Review bombed on Steam
The Review Bomb Story:
- Call of Duty Warzone players migrating
- Complained tanks OP
- Hiding in buildings, tank destroys them
- “It’s ridiculous because it’s a tank”
- Wrong expectations from different game
- Looks “absolutely fantastic” according to Al
Call of Duty Black Ops 7 (Upcoming):
- None planning to play
- “Fatigue” – Call of Duty franchise exhaustion
- Tim got Black Ops 6 as Christmas present, not interested
- Ian: would play if gifted, won’t buy
- Series lost appeal
Al’s 2025 Strategy Gaming Picks
The Shit Sandwich:
- Start great: Tempest Rising
- Shit middle: Broken Arrow
- Finish great: Dawn of War Definitive Edition
- “That’s how I like to call a shit sandwich”
Tempest Rising:
- Released start of year
- “Absolutely cracking game”
- “If Command and Conquer from 1995 and 1996 was made in 2025, it would be Tempest Rising”
- Excellent love letter to Westwood mid-90s games
- “Thoroughly recommend it”
Broken Arrow (The Shit):
- Similar to World in Conflict, Wargame Red Dragon
- Real-time tactics game
- “Military sim” description disputed
- Real world units, settings, tactics
- “As realistic as you can expect an arcade strategy game to get”
- NATO vs Russia, Third World War setting
- Can fire nukes
The Multiplayer Disaster:
- “Absolute cluster fog from start to finish”
- Loads of cheating accusations
- Balance issues completely broken
- Designed as competitive game
- Competitive elements fundamentally broken
- 6 months later still trying to fix
The Anti-Cheat Saga:
- Homegrown solution “wasn’t cutting the mustard”
- People “taking a piss”
- Recently introduced Easy Anti-Cheat (industry standard)
- Too late, damage done
The Racism Problem:
- Cheaters identified as Chinese
- “All Chinese players are cheaters” mentality
- Community became “very very toxic”
- Nationality-based accusations
- Complete cesspit
Al’s Gaming Philosophy:
- “Little slices of joy in an otherwise dull and mundane life”
- “Fucking awesome” power fantasy
- “Video gaming should be joyful”
- Broken Arrow was not joyful
- “Negative cesspit”
- Games should provide escapism
Dawn of War Definitive Edition:
- “Oh my god, it is just I love it”
- “Made me feel like it was 2004 again”
- “Knees that still worked and a back that didn’t hurt”
- Reminded of youth before kids and responsibilities
- “Joyful experience”
- Space Marine shooting orcs
- Perfect remaster execution
How Remasters Should Be:
- Brings back memories
- Introduces new people to that feeling
- Not lazy upscaling to 1080/4K
- “Redo it”
- Proper effort and care
2025 Events
EA Buyout:
- Sold to Saudi Arabia company
- $15 billion (debate if higher)
- “A lot of money either way”
- Recent event, impact unknown
- Tim only cares about Battlefield
- Future implications unclear
Switch 2 Launch:
- Released 2025
- All three hosts forgot about it
- “Completely went under the radar”
- “Just another Switch”
- Expensive games (standard Nintendo)
- No excitement or discussion
- Major console completely overlooked
Games Avoided and Why
Al: Assassin’s Creed Shadows
The Controversy:
- Black samurai protagonist (Yasuke, historical figure)
- Set in feudal Japan
- Ubisoft never made game with male East Asian protagonist
- “Perfect fit” for Japanese male protagonist
- “Why did they need to use a black samurai?”
The DEI Floodgates:
- Opened criticism for “going woke”
- “What were they trying to prove?”
- Could claim inclusivity, but still no East Asian male lead
- “Weird weird decision”
- Claims about inclusivity don’t hold up
- Gave critics ammunition
Al’s Position:
- “I like to consider myself as being quite woke”
- Aware of social issues
- Black family members, gay friends
- “Quite happy to celebrate every type of human”
- “Black, brown, yellow, red, white, blue, whatever”
- But this decision painted target on Ubisoft’s backs
The Historical Debate:
- Yasuke was real historical figure (sword bearer)
- Japan intricate about recording samurai
- No record of black samurai specifically
- “Made up history”
- “Really offended the Japanese”
- Perfect opportunity wasted
The Boycott:
- “Fuck Ubisoft”
- Couldn’t give them money
- Loves Assassin’s Creed series
- This decision too much
- Would have been perfect Japanese samurai game
- “Hundreds if not thousands of notable samurai” available
Tim’s Defense Attempt:
- Knew of black samurai before
- “This would make an awesome video game one day”
- Historical interest justified
- Counterpoint: just sword bearer, not samurai
The Impact:
- No one could focus on gameplay
- Beautiful graphics ignored
- Painted “big target right there”
- Marketing completely derailed
Tim: Avowed
The Disappointment:
- “Just looked absolutely awful”
- Xbox hyping it heavily
- “Looked like a really bad Oblivion”
- Then Oblivion Remastered announced
- “Who remembers Avowed?”
- Completely overshadowed
The Developer Confusion:
- Made by Obsidian
- Made “best Fallout” (New Vegas)
- “Incredible game”
- Avowed looked “really lazy”
- Years of hype wasted
The YouTube Red Flags:
- Pre-release access to YouTubers
- Couldn’t show certain things
- “Why can’t you show this?”
- “What are they hiding?”
- Immediate red flag
- “That’s a bit dodgy”
The Result:
- Xbox “really really peed off”
- Heavily hyped, completely flopped
- “Who remembers Avowed, honestly”
- Forgotten faster than Mind’s Eye
Tim: Borderlands 4
Randy Pitchford’s Hubris:
- “Worth about $150 if I was to make it how I want”
- Massive price claim
- “Turned out to be a broken mess”
- Predictable outcome
The Warning Sign:
- Developers claiming worth more than price
- “That’s going to be a mess”
- Always turns out broken
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
Ian: Elden Ring Night Rain
Simple Avoidance:
- Tends to avoid Elden Ring games
- “Just not my style, man”
- “Too hard for me”
- “I like to play on story mode like Al”
- Can’t play hard games
- Knows will get “crucified in comments”
Al’s Clarification:
- “I don’t play hard games”
- “I just like shooting people”
- Not about story mode preference
- About different game type entirely
The Biggest Failures of 2025
Mind’s Eye (The Forgotten Disaster):
The Pedigree:
- Leslie Benzies, Rockstar North president
- Made Grand Theft Auto 5
- Made GTA Online
- Made Red Dead Redemption
- Left Rockstar to make Mind’s Eye
The Expectations:
- Creator of most successful game ever (until GTA 6)
- Should have been massive selling point
- Open-world game
- Similar driving mechanics to GTA
- “Perfect resting point whilst people waited for GTA 6”
The Reality:
- Launched June 2025
- Immediately “mostly negative” reviews
- Lowest Metacritic score of release week
- Across ALL games that week
- Ian never even heard of it
- Complete commercial failure
The Shock:
- “Isn’t that strange?”
- Marketing completely failed
- Name recognition meant nothing
- Total obscurity despite pedigree
Monster Hunter Wilds PC (Ian’s Pick):
The Critical Success:
- 88 on Metacritic
- “Really good score”
- Critics loved it
- “Critically well-received”
The Fan Rejection:
- Terrible PC port
- Performance issues
- Crashes
- “You name it”
- “Got hit with all sorts of really terrible reviews”
- “Really tanked”
The Paradox:
- Critics 88, fans hated it
- Franchise sequel should be guaranteed success
- Repackaged existing IP
- “Been there, done that”
- Still failed with fans
- “Don’t understand why”
The Industry Pattern
Remasters and Sequels Dominate:
- Industry standard now
- “Guaranteed success”
- Don’t need to explain
- Don’t need new IP
- “Same shit just repackaged”
- Safe, predictable, boring
When It Works:
- Dawn of War Definitive Edition
- Oblivion Remaster
- Brings memories, introduces new players
- Proper effort and care
- Not lazy upscaling
When It Doesn’t:
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Avowed overshadowed by Oblivion
- Formula doesn’t guarantee success
- Fans can still reject it
The Original IP Problem:
- Industry struggling for originality
- Embellishing existing IPs
- Mechanical dragons on Doom Guy
- “Medieval knight” aesthetics on FPS
- Gimmicks over innovation
Far Cry 3 Tron Comparison:
- £10 add-on, unique concept
- 15 years ago
- Actually unique
- Modern embellishments not unique
- Just excuses for familiar gameplay
Notable Quotes
On A Game About Digging a Hole:
- “You dig a hole. Oh, okay. Oh, fantastic.”
- “Very stupid, but I assure you, sir, it is very fun”
- “You’re quite simple, aren’t you? Really?”
- “I’m a man of simple taste”
On Doom’s Story:
- “It does now have a plot, mate. It really does now”
- “What’s the plot? I don’t really want to get into spoilers, but it’s silly”
- “Just an excuse to go and blast shit”
- “Stories cost a lot of money. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars”
On Game Stories Generally:
- “I play games for the story”
- “It’s not easy mode. It’s story mode”
- “Some games require story and some of them don’t”
- “If you’re just running around blasting demons or zombies or whatever, then you don’t really need a story”
On Battlefield 6:
- “Really refreshing to have like a really good FPS that wasn’t Call of Duty”
- “Eye opening to see what if you make a game for PC and actually just the next-gen consoles what they can actually do”
- “Had a whale of a time”
On Battle Royale Fatigue:
- “I’m fed up with Battle Royale. Everybody’s doing Battle Royale right left and center”
- “I’m fed up with the genre. I’m fed up with that genre”
- “It’s ridiculous because it’s a tank”
On Call of Duty:
- “Fatigue. Call of Duty fatigue”
- “I’m not really a Call of Duty person”
- “If somebody gave it to me, I would probably play it, but I’m not going to go and spend my money”
On Tempest Rising:
- “If Command and Conquer from 1995 and 1996 was made in 2025, it would be Tempest Rising”
- “Absolutely cracking game”
- “Excellent love letter to those games”
On Broken Arrow:
- “Absolute cluster fog from start to finish”
- “Loads of accusations of cheating, loads of balance issues”
- “Community got very very toxic”
- “Negative cesspit”
On Gaming Philosophy:
- “Little slices of joy in an otherwise dull and mundane life”
- “Get to for half an hour or an hour or 7,000 hours to go and make believe that I’m somebody else and I’m fucking awesome”
- “Power fantasy”
- “Video gaming should be joyful”
On Dawn of War:
- “Oh my god, it is just I love it”
- “Made me feel like it was 2004 again”
- “Knees that still worked and a back that didn’t hurt all the time”
- “Reminded me of my youth before I had kids and responsibilities”
- “I was a Space Marine shooting orcs blowing things up and it was a joyful experience”
On Assassin’s Creed Shadows:
- “Fuck Ubisoft”
- “Why did they need to use a black samurai?”
- “Opened up the floodgates for criticism around going woke”
- “They painted a target on their backs. There’s no other way of putting it”
- “I like to consider myself as being quite woke”
- “Quite happy to celebrate every type of human. Black, brown, yellow, red, white, blue, whatever”
On Avowed:
- “Just looked absolutely awful”
- “Looked like a really bad Oblivion”
- “Then Oblivion Remastered came out”
- “Who remembers Avowed?”
On Developer Hubris:
- “This game is worth about $150 if I was to make do what I want to do”
- “Turned out to be a broken mess”
- “I always think when developers say this is worth so much more than it actually is, it’s like, well, that’s going to be a mess”
On Mind’s Eye:
- “From the creator of Grand Theft Auto, the most successful video game of all time”
- “You’ve never heard of it. Isn’t that strange?”
- “Lowest Metacritic score amongst all games that were released that week”
On The Switch 2:
- “You forgot about that. It came out this year”
- “A new console came out this year and we completely forgot about it”
- “That completely went under the radar”
- “Oh, there’s a there’s a Switch”
Memorable Moments
The Digging a Hole Reveal:
- Ian’s earnest excitement
- Al and Tim’s confusion
- “You’re quite simple, aren’t you?”
- Setting tone for entire episode
The Doom Story Debate:
- Whether FPS needs narrative
- Cost-benefit analysis of stories
- Half-Life 2 counterpoint
- Industry forcing stories everywhere
The Shit Sandwich:
- Al’s perfect framing device
- Tempest Rising (great)
- Broken Arrow (shit)
- Dawn of War (great)
- Memorable structure
The Broken Arrow Toxicity:
- Chinese player accusations
- Racism in gaming community
- Al’s “joyful gaming” philosophy
- Vision of what gaming should be
The Dawn of War Nostalgia:
- Al’s emotional reaction
- “Knees that still worked”
- Youth before responsibilities
- Perfect remaster execution
The Assassin’s Creed Controversy:
- Al’s passionate explanation
- “Fuck Ubisoft” declaration
- Woke credentials established
- Legitimate criticism vs DEI panic
The Yasuke Debate:
- Historical figure discussion
- Samurai vs sword bearer
- Japanese cultural offense
- Perfect opportunity wasted
The Avowed Oblivion Moment:
- “Looked like a really bad Oblivion”
- Then Oblivion Remaster announced
- Perfect comedic timing
- Xbox’s disappointment
The YouTube Red Flag:
- Pre-release restrictions
- “What are they hiding?”
- Immediate warning sign
- Proven correct
The Mind’s Eye Shock:
- Leslie Benzies pedigree
- Complete obscurity
- Ian never heard of it
- Lowest Metacritic of week
The Switch 2 Realization:
- All three forgot
- Major console launch
- Complete non-event
- “Oh yeah, that happened”
The Battle Royale Rant:
- Tim’s complete genre fatigue
- Tanks being OP complaint
- “It’s ridiculous because it’s a tank”
- Call of Duty player entitlement
Technical Details and References
2025 Game Releases:
Played/Discussed:
- A Game About Digging a Hole (February 2025)
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
- Oblivion Remaster
- Battlefield 6
- Red Sack (Battlefield BR, free-to-play)
- Call of Duty Black Ops 7 (upcoming)
- Tempest Rising (early 2025)
- Broken Arrow (~6 months before recording)
- Dawn of War Definitive Edition
- Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster
- Last of Us Remaster
- Metal Gear Solid Remaster
- God of War Definitive Edition
Avoided/Failed:
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Avowed (Obsidian)
- Borderlands 4
- Elden Ring Night Rain
- Mind’s Eye (Leslie Benzies, June 2025)
- Monster Hunter Wilds (PC version)
Historical References:
- Command & Conquer (1995-1996, Westwood)
- Quake series
- Half-Life 2 (2004)
- Far Cry original
- Far Cry 3 Tron DLC (£10 add-on, ~15 years ago)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (Leslie Benzies)
- GTA Online
- Red Dead Redemption
- Fallout New Vegas (Obsidian)
- World in Conflict
- Wargame Red Dragon
Technology/Platforms:
- Game Pass (30-day trials)
- Steam reviews
- Metacritic scores
- Easy Anti-Cheat implementation
- PC ports vs console versions
- Switch 2 console
Developers/Publishers:
- Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed)
- Bethesda/Microsoft (Doom, owned by)
- Obsidian (Avowed, New Vegas)
- EA (sold to Saudi company, $15 billion)
- Rockstar North (Leslie Benzies former)
- Nintendo (Switch 2)
- Capcom (Monster Hunter)
Future Episode Teases
Episode 10 Mentioned:
- Will cover more remaster discussion
- “Steal the thunder of next episode”
- God of War Definitive Edition detailed discussion
- More 2025 retrospective
Ongoing Themes:
- Industry originality crisis
- Remaster quality standards
- Community toxicity in gaming
- DEI controversies
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Episode Verdict
The hosts conclude that 2025 was a year of industry autopilot: safe sequels, lazy remasters, and franchise fatigue dominated while genuine innovation remained scarce. The few standouts—Tempest Rising’s loving C&C homage, Battlefield 6’s community-focused development, Dawn of War’s perfect remaster—proved good games still emerge when developers care about craft over quarterly earnings.
Catastrophic failures like Mind’s Eye (from GTA’s creator, completely forgotten) and Broken Arrow (toxic cesspit of racism and cheating) demonstrated that pedigree and ambition mean nothing without execution. Monster Hunter Wilds showed even beloved franchises can alienate fanbases with terrible ports, while Assassin’s Creed Shadows proved controversial protagonist choices can derail entire marketing campaigns regardless of historical accuracy.
The discussion revealed industry-wide creative bankruptcy: FPS games adding unnecessary million-dollar stories, remasters dominating release schedules, Battle Royale modes attached to everything, and even major console launches (Switch 2) generating zero excitement. EA’s $15 billion Saudi buyout and Call of Duty’s seventh sequel in as many years epitomize gaming’s corporate capture.
Yet amid the cynicism, the hosts found joy: digging literal holes, shooting orcs as Space Marines, and experiencing what games should be—escapist power fantasies providing “little slices of joy in an otherwise dull and mundane life.” The tragedy isn’t that bad games exist; it’s that toxic communities (Broken Arrow) and corporate cowardice (Ubisoft’s DEI panic) poison even good concepts.
Key Takeaway: 2025 gaming was safe, predictable, and creatively bankrupt, dominated by remasters and sequels while avoiding risks. The few games that succeeded (Tempest Rising, Battlefield 6, Dawn of War) did so by respecting players and craft. The failures (Mind’s Eye, Broken Arrow, Avowed) proved pedigree and hype mean nothing without quality execution. Gaming should be joyful—most of 2025 forgot that fundamental truth.
The Bottom Line: When three gaming podcasters completely forget a major console launched, something’s deeply wrong with the industry’s ability to generate genuine excitement. Also, sometimes you just want to dig a hole, and that’s perfectly fine.
