Yeah, well, WE DO TOO! In fact, we play them so often that we even talk about them on this here blog! In case been a while or you’re new to this series, Staff Picks is where a couple of Discord employees come together to summarize what they’ve been playing over the last month.
This month, we’ve got Emi, Cody, Matt, and Mark chattin’ about what games they’ve been playing and what games they like to screen share with their friends on Discord. See which Staff members vibe with your play style, or discover something new to check out and play with your group of Discord buddies!
🥁🥁🥁🥁 dudududududu… 🥁🥁🥁🥁 Without further ado, let’s start with Emi!
How is it ALREADY July?! What have you been playing in the last month?
In July I’ve found myself once again wishing to be the very best, like no one ever was. And by that, I mean I’ve been spending quite a few hours playing Pokémon Snap. I don’t turn on my N64 too often, although I’d definitely like to use it more, but I’ve been trying to play it more this month. The weather has been pretty nice recently though, which means I’ve been out of the house more, which also means I had time to play New Pokémon Snap and throw apples to even more Pokémon. Basically, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect pictures.
I also just started playing Dead by Daylight and have really enjoyed it so far! I’ve played and enjoyed other horror games, like Phasmophobia, and the suspense is so much fun. I’m honestly terrible at the skill checks though, so I think I need more hours in the game to get those down. Luckily, I have some friends that can give me tips and help me with the perks.
You’re about to stream a game to your Discord friends for game night. What do you play?
If people are gathering around to watch my stream, the goal is usually just to spend time together! We sometimes play games that have interactive audiences, like The Jackbox Party Pack, but we also have people come by just to have something to watch while they chat and hang out. I usually end up streaming whatever I’m playing on most game nights just so folks that drop by can laugh (or suffer defeat) along with us.
How is it ALREADY July?! What have you been playing in the last month?
I’ve been traveling around a LOT the last few weeks, so I’ve been mostly sticking to my phone for my gaming needs. Marvel SNAP has been a daily play for me for… nearly two years now… which is crazy to think about as I write this down.
In other card games, it ends up being a pretty big barrier to entry for me since In Marvel SNAP, the matches are like 3 minutes tops, your deck is only 12 cards max total, and the goal is to have the bigger “Power” number in at least two of the three “Locations” on the board. If things aren’t going your way, you’re encouraged to cut your losses and skedaddle before things get too bad — or go all-in if you’re feeling confident!
Since it’s a digital game, it can do some CRAZY stuff: You can receive a random card in your hand that you may not even own yet. One card, Mysterio, adds “fake” duplicates to the rest of your board, deceiving your opponent into which one is the real one. And one of the random Locations, Ego, takes full control of both you and your opponent’s plays and you both get to watch it play cards wherever it wants to, whether or not it’s a good choice.
It’s fast, fun, and adds new content monthly. I’ve laughed, I’ve screamed, and I’ve pulled some sick plays on a DAILY basis for nearly TWO years so far. It’s incredible both how long I’ve stuck with it and how I still love playing.
Plus, I have the snazzy in-game title that says “I’m In The Discord” under my name. Gotta rep, ya’know?
You’re about to stream a game to your Discord friends for game night. What do you play?
I like to think I’m pretty cognizant about streaming games that people would find enjoyable. My first thought would be to stream something like (sorry, here I go again with this game) Fortnite Festival or any sort of rhythm game, where whether or not you’re paying attention to the gameplay, you can still at least enjoy the music in the background.
Alternatively, I would pick something that watchers could easily understand. A simple shooter, a puzzle game, or a heavily story-based game where cutscenes are engaging enough to watch.
When I was way younger, I’d watch E3 press conferences where the person demoing the game would intentionally move their first-person camera slowly and smoothly, or look around to very prominent story beats so the audience goes “Wooaaahhh!” and I’ve kinda picked up that habit when someone else watches what I play. Gotta make it enjoyable for everyone!
Alt-text: A stylized nameplate that says “Matt.” Icons and imagery of gamepads, microphones, and VHS tapes surround the nameplate.
How is it ALREADY July?! What have you been playing in the last month?
It started with Chained Together with a couple friends, going back to Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One in anticipation of Doom: The Dark Ages, checking out the two big free-to-play releases Once Human and The First Descendant, and finally putting nearly 25 hours into Pacific Drive.
For those of you that don’t know about Pacific Drive, it’s a survival crafting-like where you build up your old station wagon to travel across the Olympic Exclusive Zone which resembles a Half-Life 2-esque environment. There is a narrative in the background, but the hook is unlocking new upgrades to go further and further and presumably unlock the mystery of what it all means.
You’re about to stream a game to your Discord friends for game night. What do you play?
Probably anything new that just came out so people can see if they want to pick it up. So in this case, Pacific Drive or Chained Together.
How is it ALREADY July?! What have you been playing in the last month?
Not only is it already July, it's basically August?! Been playing some of TheFirst Descendant. Mindless looter shooter. It’s fun, but also kinda bonkers, like one of the most incomprehensible stories ever. Mostly because I can’t pay attention to it. It will have some long cut scene where they go on about some wild names and planets and powers and someone’s dying or whatever, but I can't pay attention because one of my free cosmetics is a little polar bear playing with a coke bottle strapped to my backpack and the whole time during the cutscene, it's just flipping the bottle around, hugging it, [or] whatever.
So yeah, I have no idea what’s going on. Plus, there’s like some wild world-building and character names and stuff then just some person named Craig or Dr. Kate. Cracks me up. THERE'S TOO MUCH HAPPENING IN THAT GAME. Does any of this make sense? Am I the only one amused by this? Sorry you had to read this.
You’re about to stream a game to your Discord friends for game night. What do you play?
I’m going to make them watch me play The Ascent. That’s what they get for not wanting to play with me after we tried when it first came out and it glitched. But the world is so cool looking. SO NOW YOU ALL HAVE TO WATCH ME PLAY THIS GAME.
Gamin’. Streamin’. And summer dreamin’.
Somehow, Matt has NOT come to us with his usual ten-game backlog list, so surely he’s completed them all by now, right? Plus, both Emi and I picked games with “Snap” in the title! I swear that wasn’t planned… If you’ve got ideas on what our contributors should check out, feel free to shoot us a message at Discord’s own social media pages over on Instagram or X. Or, see what we’ve played in the past by catching up on past Staff Picks entries!
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