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Up to 75% off TotalBiscuit's favorites: Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Pharaoh + Cleopatra and more.

Love him or hate him, TotalBiscuit is a force to be reckoned with. He's the guy that millions of gamers listen to on a daily basis - whether it's first impressions, reviews, or his trademark cynical commentary on industry news, ins and outs - The Cynical Brit's influence on a generation of gamers can be hotly debated, but never denied. Today, we take a look at some of his favorites, his top bites, the 30+ games that <span class="bold">TotalBiscuit Recommends</span>:




From the creative minds of Chris Avellone, Tim Cain and Josh Sawyer comes Pillars of Eternity, where adventure continues beyond the gate. It's a critically lauded revival of the classic cRPG in the vein of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, to call it Obsidian Entertainment's spiritual sequel would be an understatement. Of course, that's not the only modern revival of old school favourites - Wasteland 2 is a sequel to the historic 1988 title that redefined RPG gameplay and inspired legendary titles like Fallout - full of multipathed quest solving, choice, consequence and maturity. Brilliant storytelling isn't just an RPG domain - classic point and click adventures like The Longest Journey or its big, action-adventure sister Dreamfall: The Longest Journey are known for featuring some of the most unique universes and best written tales in gaming. The list just goes on with some of absolutely top releases in gaming history including S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat, Mount & Blade, Pharaoh + Cleopatra, and so much more!






See TotalBiscuit's own take on this promo's biggest highlights!
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This weekend, <span class="bold">TotalBiscuit Recommends</span> some of his favourite games ever. Check them out in our weekend promo, with deals up to 75% off lasting until Tuesday, July 21, 3:59 AM GMT.
Post edited July 17, 2015 by Konrad
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Gnostic: When I am younger people tell me not to play games because I should spend my time studying / working / exercise / social life.

When I am older people tell me not to play games because bigotry / discrimination / animal killer / reviewer sucks / and various political reason.
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Grargar: Don't forget the part about having your fragile young mind protected from the evil murder simulators.
I also forgot the rapist breeding ground. Only Nintendo games is the safe haven. Oh no, the Religious Video game site says they are not.
Post edited July 21, 2015 by Gnostic
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tskalabri: My problem with TB is that he always finds a way to belittle devs opinions and always side with the consumer while using his lawyer training to draw the the blame from him and cover his ass from dissenting opinions so that it seems like a one sided issue. I like the idea of the frp but this will continue to snowball (Thru abuse of curator system with group think and mob justice) .
I come here for GOG's positive attitude and their own good sales picks. TB is good at collecting Youtube fans, and he's not the worst person to ask for a game list. But he also has a knack for lighting fires under the most unpleasant and reactionary of those fans, and then, like you say, distancing himself from the consequences.

To me GOG represents silly monk costumes, clever contests, diverse inventory, and shake-your-head ideas like shutting down the site to promote a redesign. They have their corporate side like every corporation, but it never comes across as malicious. At worst, they stumble around at times trying to make corporate decisions fit their public image. Over and over, they've shown humility when responding to their mistakes. GOG enjoys all kinds of games and tries to pass along that attitude while selling them. And their attitude carried over into the community, making the site fun for everyone.

GOG doesn't outwardly represent specs-over-substance, narrow-minded definitions of games, or ongoing harassment campaigns. Not that TB explicitly represents all that either, but it's not a stretch to say his feet are stuck in some of that mud. It's a big stretch to call him humble. It's hard to look at one of his lists without recalling some of his public flames. His e-celebrity comes in part from his relentless picking apart things that bother him. He's a mismatch for GOG's positivity.

Maybe GOG thinks they can enlist his good side (and market presence) without the baggage. Maybe in private they don't care about the baggage. But given some of TB's more inflammatory public comments, and the appalling behavior of other gaming culture warriors this past year, I have to wonder if GOG will reach a point where they're forced to choose between hanging onto his fanbase or cultivating a broader audience like before.

What would GOG look like with the most outspoken TB fans dominating it? I don't think it would be nearly as fun to visit, and the game variety would suffer as well. What would a GOG-TB rift look like in the present era? I hope the fallout wouldn't spread too far.
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Gnostic: When I am older people tell me not to play games because bigotry / discrimination / animal killer / reviewer sucks / and various political reason.
"People" – game fans like you and me – are telling you, explicitly, that it's all right to play these games and have all the fun in the world with them, but to be aware of some possibly problematic aspects.

They explicitly DON'T tell us not to play games.

And they explicitly DON'T tell us that we're bad persons because we do.

It's a rather common misconception, and while people can be avid gamers without becoming involved with any of the present cultural conflict, at least people should get rid of those basic misconceptions about the criticism that is voiced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y8XgGhXkTQ
(All six parts are well worth watching)
Post edited July 21, 2015 by Vainamoinen
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Gnostic: Oh no, the Religious Video game site says they are not.
Oh my. "There are enticement to lust issues in this game as well."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you get horny playing Smash Brothers, the problem is rooted deeper than anything present in the game.
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OK, I'll bite...

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wvpr: But given some of TB's more inflammatory public comments, and the appalling behavior of other gaming culture warriors this past year, I have to wonder if GOG will reach a point where they're forced to choose between hanging onto his fanbase or cultivating a broader audience like before.

What would GOG look like with the most outspoken TB fans dominating it? I don't think it would be nearly as fun to visit, and the game variety would suffer as well.
Make up your mind. Is GOG already hanging onto TB's fanbase or do we have to imagine a world where they'd have influence?

As a counter to your stereotyping example - what would GOG be like if TB's most outspoken detractors were running the show? Don't you think "game variety would suffer" and the place wouldn't be "fun to visit"? Do you believe people like me wouldn't get banned instantly? Inb4 "good riddance", I'm sure some here would love to have me silenced...

GOG cares about games and so does TB. In my eyes that makes them a good match. The community remains nice, partially because bullshit is frowned upon.
Finally - here comes the shocker - GOG won't have to choose between TB's fans and the rest of the world, because the rest of the world does not consist solely of TB's detractors. If anything, they'd be making a choice between losing the adamant haters vs (maybe) losing the adamant fans, while keeping a huge group of neutral individuals who are here just for the vidya. Don't quote me on this, but I'd say that there are more people they are bringing in thanks to TB than they are scaring away... as far as potential customers go anyway.

P.S.: Don't use the term "reactionary" outside the hugbox. It's only an effective insult to the ears of a select few people, others will be either left scratching their heads or become instantly suspicious of you and your motives. In addition - if you absolutely cannot get the same point across without resorting to specific vocabulary, then you're not getting a "point" across but merely spouting buzzwords... Just something to consider.
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summitus: Totalbiscuit is an arrogant narcissistic bigot whom this site should not be condoning
He's surely not very friendly and a bit too "business man", but.. such arrogant characters aren't that uncommon among showmen, even if some manage to mask it.

Getting angry for a simple promo is a bit silly, come on.

Btw, I find his analysis often interesting and his Co-optional show quite funny.
The direct inclusion of a "wtf is" video in the new guild of dungeoneering announcement made me actually laugh out loud. Because of this ragethread.

I wonder if it's meant as an answer to it.
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Gnostic: When I am older people tell me not to play games because bigotry / discrimination / animal killer / reviewer sucks / and various political reason.
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Vainamoinen: "People" – game fans like you and me – are telling you, explicitly, that it's all right to play these games and have all the fun in the world with them, but to be aware of some possibly problematic aspects.

They explicitly DON'T tell us not to play games.

And they explicitly DON'T tell us that we're bad persons because we do.

It's a rather common misconception, and while people can be avid gamers without becoming involved with any of the present cultural conflict, at least people should get rid of those basic misconceptions about the criticism that is voiced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y8XgGhXkTQ
(All six parts are well worth watching)
Yeah sure, I became a very bad person due to that RISKS PLAYING GAMES, OMG facepalm...

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summitus: Totalbiscuit is an arrogant narcissistic bigot whom this site should not be condoning
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phaolo: He's surely not very friendly and a bit too "business man", but.. such arrogant characters aren't that uncommon among showmen, even if some manage to mask it.

Getting angry for a simple promo is a bit silly, come on.

Btw, I find his analysis often interesting and his Co-optional show quite funny.
Exactly, I partially can understand I repeat, the "I am getting tired of Youtubers" feeling... but if people don´t like them, then, why they are still watching or following them? ...

All this PINK JOURNALISM inside the game industry is so BORING... I hate you, you hate me, I tweet you something flame... Jesus... I thought soap operas will never arrive to videogames, I was WRONG...
Post edited July 21, 2015 by YaTEdiGo
Anyways getting back to why GOG is great ( and nothing to do with Totalbiscuit ) .... Shadow of the Comet has just landed in the store ! ... this release reminds me of what GOG is all about .... I think I must now leave this thread and go and purchase it ... toodle pip chaps ! ;)
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summitus: Totalbiscuit is an arrogant narcissistic bigot whom this site should not be condoning
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phaolo: He's surely not very friendly and a bit too "business man", but.. such arrogant characters aren't that uncommon among showmen, even if some manage to mask it.

Getting angry for a simple promo is a bit silly, come on.

Btw, I find his analysis often interesting and his Co-optional show quite funny.
You speak the truth my friend , " Anger only damages the vessel it is stored in not what it is poured over " ... +1 to you ... but sometimes self control breaks down ... sometimes :(
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lunaticox: Most of this boils down to "My subjective Interpretation of this one joke is the objective truth: thus its offensive AND BY GOD WE CAN HAVE NONE OF THAT"

Im wondering why the triggerhappy people instantly jumped to conclusions, the "hero" could have bedded a crossdresser man prefectly at ease with his given gender or a very femenine man who seduced him on drunken stupor for all we care, the punchline of the joke is on the one who jumped off a cliff, not on his one night´s stand.

But that of course, its another subjective interpretation. Wich is in no way shape or form the objective truth.

See? there is no point on losing sleep over this stuff.
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psumner: The objective truth is the limerick itself, which contains none of the fan-fiction you made up to rationalize it, and none of which erases the transphobia anyway. The joke is clear. The punchline comes at the expense of a transgender woman who is considered so shameful that the man jumps off a cliff, which the audience is supposed to find funny. Obsidian agreed that the joke was offensive and removed it. A noisy but small segment of the population had a nervous breakdown and decided transphobic jokes in videogames were the hill it was going to die on. They lost that culture war, just as Gamergate did. I imagine it must be a very anxious existence to hold these positions, watching bitterly as society constantly rejects them and moves on.

Videogames are a part of pop culture and are subject to cultural criticisms and analyses of their social impact, just like any other art. I think much of the defense of the joke really came down to resentment over expanding inclusiveness and diversity, which threatens the narrowly defined "gamer" label that was so accurately described as dead last year. You can't praise games as art while dismissing attempts to critically discuss their social impact without coming off as a myopic curmudgeon.
Actually when I saw the joke, I found it funny because of how ridiculous it was that said person would jump off a cliff over something like that. I think most progressive people look at it in this light. It's pretty silly to make a fuss about it.
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psumner: The objective truth is the limerick itself, which contains none of the fan-fiction you made up to rationalize it, and none of which erases the transphobia anyway. The joke is clear. The punchline comes at the expense of a transgender woman who is considered so shameful that the man jumps off a cliff, which the audience is supposed to find funny. Obsidian agreed that the joke was offensive and removed it. A noisy but small segment of the population had a nervous breakdown and decided transphobic jokes in videogames were the hill it was going to die on. They lost that culture war, just as Gamergate did. I imagine it must be a very anxious existence to hold these positions, watching bitterly as society constantly rejects them and moves on.

Videogames are a part of pop culture and are subject to cultural criticisms and analyses of their social impact, just like any other art. I think much of the defense of the joke really came down to resentment over expanding inclusiveness and diversity, which threatens the narrowly defined "gamer" label that was so accurately described as dead last year. You can't praise games as art while dismissing attempts to critically discuss their social impact without coming off as a myopic curmudgeon.
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Senteria: Actually when I saw the joke, I found it funny because of how ridiculous it was that said person would jump off a cliff over something like that. I think most progressive people look at it in this light. It's pretty silly to make a fuss about it.
I wonder, if the joke was about a drunk lesbian who went home with who she thinks is a woman, but upon sobering up discovers that she just slept with a man and commits suicide - would SJWs consider that joke to be making fun of the lesbian or of the man mistaken for a woman? Something tells me they'll blame the man for pretending to be a woman so that he can sleep with the lesbian under false pretenses (rape!). Still don't buy that there's any actual transgendering going on there in the first place.
Post edited July 21, 2015 by kalirion
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Vestin: Make up your mind. Is GOG already hanging onto TB's fanbase or do we have to imagine a world where they'd have influence?
They are appealing to his fanbase as part of their overall marketing plan. They aren't catering to his fanbase at the expense of everyone else.

Suppose, for instance, that the more radicalized TB fans start a "consumer revolt" demanding that GOG drop some hated publishers. If there's a lot of overlap between GOG customers and TB fans, GOG would have to give their protest a lot of weight. That's an extreme example. It's more realistic to assume a strong TB contingent will influence sales and forum culture more subtly, less overtly. Skewing the population more towards that fanbase links the needs of the site with that fanbase.

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Vestin: As a counter to your stereotyping example - what would GOG be like if TB's most outspoken detractors were running the show? Don't you think "game variety would suffer" and the place wouldn't be "fun to visit"? Do you believe people like me wouldn't get banned instantly? Inb4 "good riddance", I'm sure some here would love to have me silenced...
I think you miss my point. GOG is doing a fine job on their own. I don't like seeing them add polarized or hostile voices on top of that. They don't need TB, his fans, his opponents, or anyone else setting the tone of GOG's website.

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Vestin: Don't quote me on this, but I'd say that there are more people they are bringing in thanks to TB than they are scaring away... as far as potential customers go anyway.
If they didn't think he'd bring in customers, they wouldn't put his name all over their site. It's a given he can steer traffic their way. But it may back them into a corner down the line. I don't know because I can't foretell the future.

To give you an out-of-left-field example, consider Bill Cosby. His endorsement was solid marketing gold for decades. But now he's a liability. Hitching onto a celebrity has risks attached no matter how good they look, and TB's public image is already not stellar. Don't get me wrong, TB never had Cosby's former stature and he'll never be in Cosby's current position. They're totally different situations. The point is it's a gamble whether someone as mercurial as TB will bring GOG more good things than bad in the long run.

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Vestin: P.S.: Don't use the term "reactionary" outside the hugbox.[...]if you absolutely cannot get the same point across without resorting to specific vocabulary, then you're not getting a "point" across but merely spouting buzzwords... Just something to consider.
Words like "hugbox" are also loaded buzzwords implying a lot more than anything I said. Reactionary is a longstanding term that nicely encapsulates the kind of person I was talking about. You clearly understood what I meant by it, and there's no disputing there are some very vocal gamers that fall into that category. I was careful to refer to them separately from TB and his total followers.
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Telika: The direct inclusion of a "wtf is" video in the new guild of dungeoneering announcement made me actually laugh out loud. Because of this ragethread.

I wonder if it's meant as an answer to it.
Ironically, the game's developer was recently targeted by followers of TB's "Framerate Police" steam group. To his credit, TB quickly spoke out against the abuse, but it's insane it happened at all.

https://twitter.com/gambrinous/status/622186459953500160

http://steamcommunity.com/app/317820/discussions/0/535150948602548346/#p1

It's a good example of the kind of behavior I'd hate to see take over GOG. Not because TB makes everyone do those things, but because it seems to follow him around.
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wvpr: Ironically, the game's developer was recently targeted by followers of TB's "Framerate Police" steam group. To his credit, TB quickly spoke out against the abuse, but it's insane it happened at all.
Yeah. I regularly check TB's reviews because I agree with most of his judgement criterias (he is also a very good reviewer in the sense that he always explains who will and will not like a game for which reasons, which make his reviews useful even for those who don't share his tastes, and the sad truth is that very few critics do this, be it in gaming, cinema, etc), but I find his framerate obsession quite ridiculous. Okay, he has a preference, but he makes such a drama out of it, like All Things Good are at stake...

And, okay, it's his thing. So, I thought, a grin and an eye-roll and we were done. But I hadn't taken in consideration the factor that he should take in consideration too : the number of moronic crusade-seeking kids amongst gamers. And the effect of strong cool-sounding super-opinionated rants on such imbeciles. I don't think he should be held accountable for any butterfly effect of his rants (he's no pope or politician), but still, maybe he should realise that he largely speaks to a population of teenage hate-seekers (heck, especially that he is also a victim of this mentality) and maybe relativise his points accordingly.

I'm not all for adapting any statement to the lowest member of the public (this legal duty tends tends to kill dark humour), but when you know by experience what sort of crowd flock around internet celebrities, maybe it's still something that should play a role on the posturing choices.

Internet.