We “press to X to take a trip” in Virginia.

Developer: Variable State | Publisher: 505 Games | Release Date: September 22, 2016

Jacob, Mike and special guest Jarrett McCourt talk about the grandest little town in Virginia, skip the stairs with jump cuts and look into mirrors at ourselves very deeply. “You need to have some life experiences, Jacob.” Our first episode of 2018 launches on January 10th and we are playing Guacamelee!

You can now e-mail us your questions! Send questions about past episodes or questions about us to questions@leftbehindgame.club!

Players: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt) and Michael Ruffolo (@ruffolom)

Special Guest: Jarrett McCourt (Instagram @jarrettmccourt & @jmccourtphotography)

Website: LeftBehindGame.Club | Twitter: @LeftBehindClub

Show Notes (spoilers):

  • 1:29 Special Guest Jarrett McCourt introduces himself
  • 4:23 We introduce Virginia
  • 6:00 A little bit about Variable State
  • 6:35 Mike, Jacob and our music expert, Jarrett start on the soundtrack
  • 11:57 “I see this game as more of a piece of art”
  • 12:48 This game as a movie
  • 13:55 Past experience with the game
  • 15:30 The story begins
  • 16:43 “Did you find that the jump cuts were jarring?”
  • 17:56 The look of the game
  • 20:25 Cord McCarren and the X-Files
  • 22:38 Meeting Maria Halperin
  • 24:30 Spoilers start here
  • 24:46 Flipping on your partners
  • 26:10 Jacob comments about the back third of the game
  • 27:38 Jacob gets an education about stamps and “stamps”
  • 29:01 Getting to Kingdom, VA
  • 30:58 The cardinal and the game’s symbolism
  • 34:00 Bull vs. Bison vs. Buffalo
  • 36:50 Is this whole game a trip?
  • 38:23 Jarrett brings up Warhol and the tuba
  • 40:07 What is Virginia’s intention?
  • 43:21 The gas station scene
  • 46:16 The cult thing
  • 48:14 Sojourner’s Truth
  • 49:00 Jacob compares the music to the Super Mario 64 Water Theme (with proof)
  • 50:22 Waking up in Maria’s house
  • 52:03 The game unfurls
  • 53:39 Jacob’s best video game sequence of the 2010s…
  • 56:27 …then you take the drugs
  • 57:40 A hospital bedside, a shoe box and a key
  • 1:01:22 Aliens.
  • 1:02:10 The pastor
  • 1:05:08 Closing thoughts about the game

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