This week on MacStories Unwind, I recommend Godzilla Minus One in honor of Magic Rays of Light joining MacStories and Federico shares part two of his big gaming surprise, explaining the hardware he’s using to emulate Switch games and more.

Links and Show Notes

John’s Pick

• Magic Rays of Light
• Godzilla Minus One
  • Trailer
  • Watch Godzilla Minus One in dazzling black and white during limited US run
  • Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Ticci’s Absolutely Bananas Gaming Tablet

• ROG Flow Z13
• ROG Flow Z13-ACRNM RMT02

Strap included.

The Ultimate lifestyle shots

Ticci and ACRNM.

Who doesn’t love a kickstand?

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico surprises John with his big holiday videogame project in the first part of what promises to be a fun Unwind miniseries.

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Links and Show Notes

Federico’s New Year Surprise

• The Yuzu Switch emulator
• Switch Hacking Is Easy
• Hekate
• Nintendo Switch Piracy & Hacking - Did You Know Gaming Ft. Dazz
• Discoverer of the Tegra chip exploit

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I recap our videogame hardware experiments of 2023 and pick our favorite games of the year.

Hardware Picks

• Asus ROG Ally
• XG Mobile 4090
• OLED Steam Deck
  • Steam Clip
  • Deckmate
  • Allymate
• XREAL Air
• UVC Capture on the iPad
  • Orion app
• Ayn Odin 2 Pro
• Daijisho
• HandheldDIY

Game Picks

• Joint Game of the Year
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Other Joint Picks
  • Metroid Prime Remastered
  • Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Federico’s Other Picks:
  • Cocoon
  • Sea of Stars
• John’s Other Pick:
  • Hi-Fi Rush

Backlogs

• Federico
  • Lies of P
  • Jusant
  • Final Fantasy XVI
  • Chants of Sennaar
  • Baldurs Gate 3
  • Armored Core VI, Fires of Rubicon
  • Resident Evil 4 Remake
  • Blasphemous 2
• John
  • Spider-Man 2
  • Dave the Diver
  • Dredge

Also mentioned:
GameTrack, an iOS, iPadOS, and Mac game tracking app

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This week on MacStories Unwind,  Federico and I share our favorite TV shows and movies of 2023 and discuss the return of Europe to Threads.

Sponsored By:

• Television Time – Your Ultimate Companion for tracking your favorite shows, and discovering new ones.
• Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps. It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Threads Returns to Europe

• The MacStories Team Is on Threads (Again)

Federico’s TV Picks:

• Suburræterna on Netflix
• Ted Lasso on Apple TV+
• Platonic on Apple TV+
• For All Mankind on Apple TV+
• Also mentioned:
  • Media tracking app, Sequel

John’s TV Picks:

• Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+
• Slow Horses on Apple TV+
• Shrinking on Apple TV+
• Silo on Apple TV+
• The Last of Us on Max
• A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu

John’s Movie Picks:

• Astroid City
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

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This week on MacStories Unwind, kick off the first of our annual ‘best of’ Unwind recaps with the best music releases of 2023.

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• Longplay – Rediscover, enjoy and organize your album collection.
• Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps. It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Links and Show Notes

Federico’s Top 5:

• the record by boygenius
• So Much for Stardust by Fallout Boy
• One More Time by Blink 182
• The Maine by The Maine
• Lobes by We are Scientists

Federico’s Album of the Year

• the record by boygenius

Federico’s Honorable Mentions:

• Guts by Olivia Rodrigo
• This is Why by Paramore
• Certified Depressant by Taylor Acorn

John’s Top 5:

• the record by boygenius
• Be Still My Heart by Babygirl
• One More Time by Blink 182
• Guts by Olivia Rodrigo
• First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National

John’s Album of the Year

• First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National

John’s Honorable Mentions:

• My Soft Machine by Arlo Parks
• Good Riddance by Gracie Abrams
• Memento Mori by Depeche Mode
• Knebworth 22 (Live) by Liam Gallagher
• Saviors by Green Day

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This week on MacStories Unwind, it’s Thanksgiving weekend in the US, which means it’s time for Federico to quiz me about American traditions and for us to share a couple of TV show recommendations.

Federico Has Questions About Thanksgiving

• The president once again pardons turkeys who did nothing wrong, but why?

Federico’s Pick:

• Suburræterna on Netflix
  • Trailer
  • Previous Recommendation:Suburra: Blood on Rome on Netflix

John’s Pick:

• A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu
  • Trailer

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This month for the AV Club edition of MacStories Unwind, Federico John, and Jonathan discuss their personal histories with the Mario franchise and share their thoughts on the latest installment, Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Sponsored By:

• Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

• Watch:
  • Trailer
• Read:
  • IGN - Super Mario Bros. the Fastest Selling Mario Game
  • Polygon Review
  • An excellent breakdown of the design of the game from Eurogamer.

Follow us on Mastodon

• Federico Viticci
• John Voorhees
• Jonathan Reed

Follow us on Instagram

• Federico Viticci
• John Voorhees

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This week on MacStories Unwind, I take Federico on a trip to Flavortown with Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, including Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burgers, Smoque BBQ, and Del Rhea’s Chicken Basket, three of my favorite Flavortown stops.

Sponsored By:

• Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Links and Show Notes

• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Max
  • Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burgers Season 2, Episode 12. Starts at 00:13:02.
  • Smoque BBQ Season 2, Episode 6. Starts at 00:07:23.
  • Del Rhea’s Chicken Basket Season 5, Episode 9. Starts at 00:13:00.
• Food Network page

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