Twisted Metal Nostalgia, Silksong Shockwaves, and Critical Role’s Campaign Shakeup
Episode 356 of The Game Deflators Podcast took a spin back to the original Twisted Metal on PlayStation. But before diving into weaponized vehicles and Calypso’s cursed wish-granting, the week was overflowing with new pickups, throwback distractions, and plenty of hot takes.
On the collectibles front, the haul included Shredder’s Revenge on PS4, a Frenzied Baloth and Soulstone Sanctuary from the latest Magic: The Gathering pulls, and even micron pens for fine-detail work on D&D minis. Add in the Digimon Osmaria XB Digivice and a Blastoise-branded Igloo water bottle, and it was a week where cardboard, plastic, and nostalgia collided in the best possible way.
Gaming-wise, a sudden power outage sparked a return to Hollow Knight. With Silksong finally dated for September 4, the hype is in overdrive, and the original still impresses with its haunting soundtrack and crisp, bug-filled world. Over on the RPG front, progress continued in The Witcher and Final Fantasy VI. Kefka’s descent into madness remains one of the most unhinged villain arcs ever, and the game climbed high enough in the rankings to bump Final Fantasy VII out of the personal top three — replaced by nostalgia-fueled favorites like X and VIII.
The week wasn’t all games, though. A random stumble into “Yo Yogi,” the bizarre 90s cartoon where Hanna-Barbera characters solve mall mysteries as teenagers, turned into a so-bad-it’s-good viewing session. Meanwhile, King of the Hill season eight carried us through late nights of kid duty and Magic card sorting. The verdict holds steady: Peggy is the worst, Hank and Dale remain the MVPs.
One of the more intriguing discoveries came from the tabletop world: CardMill, an AI-powered Kickstarter project designed to scan and catalog Magic collections directly into spreadsheets. If it works, it could be a game-changer for collectors buried in cardboard — though skepticism remains about whether it will ever actually deliver.
From there, attention turned to Critical Role’s major announcement: Campaign 4 will stick with Dungeons & Dragons, not Daggerheart. The new campaign, led by Brennan Lee Mulligan with Matt Mercer stepping into a player’s role, will feature a massive 13-person cast split across multiple tables in a West Marches-style format. The choice to bypass Daggerheart sparked plenty of debate — is it hesitation from fans to embrace a new system, or simply a tactical move to keep the storytelling tight? Either way, it reinforces that homebrew flexibility and collaborative creativity are still at the heart of the hobby.
Finally, we circled back to Twisted Metal. The PS1 classic holds undeniable nostalgic weight, but playing it today reveals some cracks: clunky controls, blocky visuals, and limited storytelling keep it from shining the way it once did. Later entries like Twisted Metal 3 and Black simply hold up better.
In the Inflation/Deflation Challenge, the market told its own story: black-label complete copies now push past $137, while greatest hits versions hover closer to $28, and loose discs linger in between. Nostalgia aside, it’s hard to call those prices fair. The verdict? Overpriced for what it delivers today.
As the episode wrapped, the road ahead looked uncertain but exciting: maybe Fallout, maybe Brotherhood of Steel on PS2, maybe something seasonal to ring in the holidays. Whatever it turns out to be, chaos feels guaranteed — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Articles covered:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/silksong-release-date-has-already-prompted-two-game-delays/1100-6534203/
https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/critical-role-campaign-4-west-marches
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Permission for intro and outro music provided by Matthew Huffaker http://www.youtube.com/user/teknoaxe 2_25_18
