Easy Allies: 2016 - 2024?

From what I've seen of them (usually when they get shuffled into my YouTube recommends) they seem to have fully embraced the twitch streamer shouty-screamy way of doing things. I suppose this has been their identity ever since the GameTrailers FFVII/Shenmue reveal vid but yeah. I used to watch GT reviews all the time but can't really be bothered with them now.

Also, unless something drastic changed, they're one of the least diverse teams of this sort out there; it's literally 10 white guys.

Lotus wrote:Anybody still watching / following Easy Allies, now that they're into 'Phase 4'? I'm curious as to what thoughts people have on what they produce and what they do with the money / resources they have.

After a long break I've got back into listening to the podcast, Frame Trap, and Friend Code, and I watch their reviews too. Nothing else appeals though, and as someone who's not interested in streams, I can't help but wish they'd do more produced content, but they seem to have gone the other way and got rid of some during the switch to phase 4 and focusing more on streams. Plus I still can't stand Ian, and now he's on every podcast.

I have been a frequent listener for the past couple of years, and have probably listened in to every Podcast, Friend Code and Frame Trap over that period. I must say, their output now seems to be the least appealing to me that it ever has.

I'm not really sure if that has anything to do with the "phase 4" production as a whole (i'm not sure really how much that impacts my viewing habits, except for the podcast no longer being ready for me to watch on a Saturday morning), i think its more that they have run out of interesting things to say. Maybe it has always been that way and its just that i have grown a bit tired of it.

I still like all of them as personalities though, and i really like to tune in and pick up on the hype they have when there is a game event of some sort (especially when its console hardware stuff), but the general talk they have seems to resonate less and less.

strawberry float sakes I wrote a big post and it was deleted. They don't stream that often compared to what they did. Their streams don't consist of 'shouting/screaming' stuff like Taf has said. Not generally anyway. The Twitch streams have been great for info from the guys and you can ask questions and get answers and they'll interact with chat which big streamers tend to not do. It's a massive shame that people seem streaming as "watching other play games" because in general it is o ly that at the most basic of levels, the interaction, info and so on make it much more, like way back someone asked Damiani about Game Slueth and he explained exactly why it's slower coming than Pop Fiction and gooseberry fool like that. Ben is great for andwering questions too. I think the Twitch streams actually give you more from them if you are willing to check it out.

Recently watched all of Tabletop Escapades Season 1 which was ace, and I am a little ways in through season 2.

Fiasconauts looks like it'd be a fun watch.

I watch/listen to The Podcast and Frametrap. I w.camt wait for more boxpeek.

Like I say, I've not really watched a lot of them but their YouTube videos at least contains a lot of shouty-screamy stuff.



I'm sure their twitch stuff is great but the above is what I see of them these days.

Ah, the reactions to certain games.

That they used to do on GT...

It seems to be their focus on YouTube these days. Which is fine. There are people that like that stuff. My issue (if you can even really call it that) is that the group-of-folks-playing-games thing is done far better by Giant Bomb and the interesting-thoughts-on-games is done better by Waypoint. EA are sort of a middle of the road alternative to either of those.

Taf's centrist bashing continues unabated.

Tafdolphin wrote:It seems to be their focus on YouTube these days. Which is fine. There are people that like that stuff. My issue (if you can even really call it that) is that the group-of-folks-playing-games thing is done far better by Giant Bomb and the interesting-thoughts-on-games is done better by Waypoint. EA are sort of a middle of the road alternative to either of those.

Try watching their stuff it's really good and again they're streams are really good. Mostly chilled out, chats while playing games.

Aye I might give them a shot. I really disliked the vibe of Giant Bomb before I started watching regularly too, so who knows?

Bob. Bob knows everything.

I don't know who Bob is but he knows you. Because he knows everything.

The skin colour of the members of Easy Allies really annoys me as well. Makes me feel sick everytime I think about it. And don't get me started on them all being male either. UGH.

Another gripe I have is that they spend so much time talking about games that are coming out or that they're excited about, and then - Frame Trap aside - they barely talk about them.
I'd like to hear more discussion around games once they're released - did they live up to the hype, what's fun, what isn't, etc. Maybe it just needs Frame Trap more often, with a greater range of games being discussed.

Yeah, got to agree that EA definitely aren't stereotypical shouty YouTubers, which is actually why I watch them. I don't go that deep into their content as I'm not going to re-watch streams that happen in the middle of the night here, and I don't tend to listen to the podcasts outside of the main one unless I'm particularly interested in a topic. However, the main podcast has been a staple in my listening since they launched, and stuff like Hall of Greats is some of my favourite gaming related content out there. They always come across as a genuine groups of friends who love what they do and it leads to wholesome, engaging and knowledgeable content.

Tafdolphin wrote:It seems to be their focus on YouTube these days. Which is fine. There are people that like that stuff. My issue (if you can even really call it that) is that the group-of-folks-playing-games thing is done far better by Giant Bomb and the interesting-thoughts-on-games is done better by Waypoint. EA are sort of a middle of the road alternative to either of those.

Each to their own. I fell out of touch with Gaint bomb a while back now. They're good at talking about games but I feel barely any passion come from them these days that it's just not my kinda vibe. I do try to make time to watch any reactions they do to big events tho. I don't really follow much of Waypoint so can't give much of an input. But they seem more conversationally critically focused on games which you can only take so much of. It's just not my cup of tea right now.

It sucks seeing folks get misrepresented from a few videos but I've been following EZA since their conception and it's been nothing but pure honest good times. I actually regret not being there for their GT days. It's only thanks to Kinda Funny I got introduced to them. They're smart, passionate and well insightful into many topics and express themselves so well while doing it. It's refreshing compared to most people I've seen. I honestly never get tired of them, which just shows how genuine they are. Every member has a personality that bounces of each other and it all just gels so well together. Their group lives steams have brought me many tearful laughters. I could go on and on about how much I love these guys. I owe a lot to them too for taking me through tough times.

Lotus wrote:Another gripe I have is that they spend so much time talking about games that are coming out or that they're excited about, and then - Frame Trap aside - they barely talk about them.
I'd like to hear more discussion around games once they're released - did they live up to the hype, what's fun, what isn't, etc. Maybe it just needs Frame Trap more often, with a greater range of games being discussed.

They some patreon exclusive shows going into games they've played more. They tend to go into games they've played on group streams or other podcasts too. I feel like it'd get a bit tiring to just stick to talking about one game on different shows tho. There's just so much other stuff to talk about. I personally haven't really felt this problem with them. Freamtrap is like a 3 hour show too. It's more than enough time to express their thought on recent games.

Lotus wrote:Anybody still watching / following Easy Allies, now that they're into 'Phase 4'? I'm curious as to what thoughts people have on what they produce and what they do with the money / resources they have.

After a long break I've got back into listening to the podcast, Frame Trap, and Friend Code, and I watch their reviews too. Nothing else appeals though, and as someone who's not interested in streams, I can't help but wish they'd do more produced content, but they seem to have gone the other way and got rid of some during the switch to phase 4 and focusing more on streams. Plus I still can't stand Ian, and now he's on every podcast.

I consume almost the exact same content and gave similar feedback on the streams when they were doing their survey. Sounds like we're in the minority.

Really enjoying the Brandon and Kyle playing Pokemon Gold series, Mysterious Monsters, also the Patreon Exclusive stuff (And for that reason; Fancy 15; Achieve it yourself) were really good.

Why do you dislike Ian?

HaruKazuhira wrote:

Tafdolphin wrote:It seems to be their focus on YouTube these days. Which is fine. There are people that like that stuff. My issue (if you can even really call it that) is that the group-of-folks-playing-games thing is done far better by Giant Bomb and the interesting-thoughts-on-games is done better by Waypoint. EA are sort of a middle of the road alternative to either of those.

Each to their own. I fell out of touch with Gaint bomb a while back now. They're good at talking about games but I feel barely any passion come from them these days that it's just not my kinda vibe. I do try to make time to watch any reactions they do to big events tho. I don't really follow much of Waypoint so can't give much of an input. But they seem more conversationally critically focused on games which you can only take so much of. It's just not my cup of tea right now.

It sucks seeing folks get misrepresented from a few videos but I've been following EZA since their conception and it's been nothing but pure honest good times. I actually regret not being there for their GT days. It's only thanks to Kinda Funny I got introduced to them. They're smart, passionate and well insightful into many topics and express themselves so well while doing it. It's refreshing compared to most people I've seen. I honestly never get tired of them, which just shows how genuine they are. Every member has a personality that bounces of each other and it all just gels so well together. Their group lives steams have brought me many tearful laughters. I could go on and on about how much I love these guys. I owe a lot to them too for taking me through tough times.

Lotus wrote:Another gripe I have is that they spend so much time talking about games that are coming out or that they're excited about, and then - Frame Trap aside - they barely talk about them.
I'd like to hear more discussion around games once they're released - did they live up to the hype, what's fun, what isn't, etc. Maybe it just needs Frame Trap more often, with a greater range of games being discussed.

They some patreon exclusive shows going into games they've played more. They tend to go into games they've played on group streams or other podcasts too. I feel like it'd get a bit tiring to just stick to talking about one game on different shows tho. There's just so much other stuff to talk about. I personally haven't really felt this problem with them. Freamtrap is like a 3 hour show too. It's more than enough time to express their thought on recent games.

I wish I had bothered with Gametrailers too, I only watched Pop Fiction and it's a shame.

Tafdolphin wrote:Also, unless something drastic changed, they're one of the least diverse teams of this sort out there; it's literally 10 white guys.

I mean sure if you're after token, black one, white one, brown one, boobs one diversity. Then it is just 9 white guys. This is as a result of who was there at the end of GT though rather than design. And they acknowledge the fact they are all white males from a diversity point of view frequently.

I have more thoughts on where they're at as a group, but I'll leave that till I'm not on my phone.

Captain Kinopio wrote:

Tafdolphin wrote:Also, unless something drastic changed, they're one of the least diverse teams of this sort out there; it's literally 10 white guys.

I mean sure if you're after token, black one, white one, brown one, boobs one diversity. Then it is just 9 white guys. This is as a result of who was there at the end of GT though rather than design. And they acknowledge the fact they are all white males from a diversity point of view frequently.

I saw something, on ResetEra I think, about them referencing their lack of diversity over a year ago I think. Far as I know it hasn't changed.

I get that it's a group of guys who met through work, and I'm not suggesting they rectify it with a diversity hire, but personally I find their work appeals less simply because they're bringing less perspective to the table. They have a smaller window on the world.

HaruKazuhira wrote:I could go on and on about how much I love these guys. I owe a lot to them too for taking me through tough times.

This is awesome though. I have a similar thing with GB and Waypoint, especially the latter

Well they come from all over the States have different educational backgrounds, Ian identifies as non-gender binary (if that’s the right term), Kyle suffers from depression, Brandon is fairly well off, Huber and Brad a lot less so and are basically So-Cal Bros, Bloodworth is fairly conservative and is heavily involved in local churches.

As far as hot takes go, they’re all white guys so not worth listening to, is a pretty shitty one.

Clarkman wrote:

Lotus wrote:Anybody still watching / following Easy Allies, now that they're into 'Phase 4'? I'm curious as to what thoughts people have on what they produce and what they do with the money / resources they have.

After a long break I've got back into listening to the podcast, Frame Trap, and Friend Code, and I watch their reviews too. Nothing else appeals though, and as someone who's not interested in streams, I can't help but wish they'd do more produced content, but they seem to have gone the other way and got rid of some during the switch to phase 4 and focusing more on streams. Plus I still can't stand Ian, and now he's on every podcast.

I consume almost the exact same content and gave similar feedback on the streams when they were doing their survey. Sounds like we're in the minority.

Really enjoying the Brandon and Kyle playing Pokemon Gold series, Mysterious Monsters, also the Patreon Exclusive stuff (And for that reason; Fancy 15; Achieve it yourself) were really good.

Why do you dislike Ian?

Yeah I think we are in the minority, and for me at least, my gaming tastes and interests don't really move with the times.

With Ian I don't really like his style or sense of humour, and I find he has less gaming knowledge than the others, and therefore isn't able to add much to discussions as the others.
Plus he always seems to try and shoehorn in either Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or some kind of political topic into conversations.