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[WRITE-IN] Trouble at Ubisoft, Defining "Set Piece," and 2026 Gaming Resolutions | Firelink Podcast (Patreon)

Published:
2026-01-21 18:06:40
Imported:
2026-01

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Hey all!

A slight schedule change this week -- Firelink will be TONIGHT at 6pm CT, instead of tomorrow. We'll be back to our normal day/time next week!

As for today's show, we'll be chatting about the big shakeup coming out of Ubisoft, what separates a good set piece from a bad one, and digging into some of new 2026 gaming resolutions.

If you have thoughts on any of those, or just want to chime in with your favorite fictional sword, sound off!

Thanks!~Marty

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Trouble at Ubisoft, Defining "Set Piece," and 2026 Gaming Resolutions | Firelink Podcast

This video is brought to you by PlayTracker, the app that tracks your cross-platform game library, achievements, stats, and more! Join the Second Wind guild today! – https://playtracker.net/guild/second-wind/ This week on Firelink, KC, Nick, and Marty chat about the big shakeup at Ubsoft, their 2026 gaming resolutions, and dig into what separates a good set piece from a bad one. Keep up to date on the standings of our Firelink Fantasy Critic Draft -- https://www.fantasycritic.games/league/6093c943-c06e-4f44-8206-157e410d7914/2026 If you dig the podcast, considering supporting us over at Patreon -- https://www.patreon.com/SecondWindGroup Check out our excellent selection of merch over at our DFTBA store -- https://store.dftba.com/collections/second-wind Snag yourself an Adventure is Nigh! plushie over at Shark Robot -- https://sharkrobot.com/collections/second-wind

Comments

Far Too Many Frogs

"Big shakeup" minutes after Jason Schreier's post. That's timing.

Lil' Cass (CJ)

Regarding the Ubisoft news, I heard the breaking news of it happen live on Game Mess Mornings over at Giant Bomb which was followed up by Jeff Grubb's internet konking out for a moment and shenanigans ensued while Grubb was getting back online

Jared Samples

The Prince of Persia remake was the last game I was really looking forward to from Ubisoft. Now it seems like the franchise is basically dead, being relegated to the 'creative house' responsible for Beyond Good & Evil. As for a good v bad set piece, I think it comes down to dedication to the theming. I just got to the frozen layer in DK bananza, and the lava is molten chocolate?? Chefs kiss, no notes

Donald Seaman

The best fictional sword is the Mortal Blade in Sekiro. It kills anyone who draws it, which is why Sekiro is the only person who can use it

Jeffrey

Not only are they cancelling games, but mandating 5 day in office workdays. I expect the execs are looking to sell themselves out into a parachute paycheck.

Th3P4tM4n

One of my all time favorite set pieces is the Dead Space 2 runaway train, and it models my belief well; that a good set piece should be exciting, self-contained, and brief.

Tyraa Rane

Looking at the way Ubisoft's new "houses" are structured, I can't help but wonder if House #4 is being built to fail. Especially with Beyond Good & Evil and all its development hell attached to it...and Prince of Persia, which has just seen its remake cancelled. What a shame. On a lighter note...my only gaming resolution for this year is to finally tackle my backlog. I'm limiting my new game purchases to just one or two, like the new Control, in favor of finishing all the games I already own but never got around to, like Kentucky Route Zero.

Mopman43

Gaming resolutions… I’d like to play more games. Like, spend less time playing infinitely-replayable experiences and more time playing (and ideally finishing) actually completable games.

Bartender

While Ubisoft receives a lot of (mostly warranted) criticism, I will say that they have been great at supporting games long after release. Just recently Far Cry Primal, a 10 year old game, received a free fps update. Can't be very lucrative for them and it's very consumer friendly.

David C

It's sad to say that the majority of people who have worked (or still work) in videogames know how it feels to be laid off by now. I'm sending my empathy to all the impacted Ubisoft employees.

A Winged Potato

Have no love for Ubisoft especially with the way they made all their games such a pain in the ass to play I just ignore them now, but here’s to KC and any other employee who is could be affected by yet another corporate failure

Tommy Salty

Hello! I know it's in good taste to dump on AA companies, but truth to be told, a simpleton that I am, I've played through AC1-4, Origins and Odyssey as well as Far Cry 1-4 and the whole Prince of Persia trilogy, let alone hundreds of hours in Siege. I'm a strategy guy, and their games were great palate cleansers for me despite their vices. Speaking of which, AC2 and Brotherhood had some good set pieces, I have fond memories of driving Leonard's tank. Far Cry 3's opening is wonderful in setting the tone. MARTY, SUNSET OVERDRIVE IS ON SALE SPREAD THE WORD.

Jed

Marty, you teased in your travelogues that Akihabara has lost its mojo. I am curious about what you meant, but I think your Part 3 of Tokyo columns never hit the air. Please elaborate;)

Shane Z

In terms of an open world set piece, I think that much if the world has to be interactable. An expansive gorgeous world used to be impressive all on its own. How they are a dime a dozen. If there is nothing to do in the world what's the point. I think RDR2 pushed this boundary forward quite a bit.

LookItsChefEric

With the cancellation of the PoP remake, I gotta wonder now if they're not engaging in open corporate fuckery by manipulating taxes or stocks or something intentionally confusing and shitty to make a few more bucks

LookItsChefEric

Also unrelated question, Marty (or anyone else who watched) what were you fav runs from GDQ 2026? For me the 70 person Super Mario 64 relay, the Chrono Trigger and Silksong Any% runs were phenomenal

Inverse Skies

I’ve always kinda liked the sword of kings from earthbound, mostly because it’s an absolute nightmare to get. Aesthetic design wise? I’ll take a Squall gun blade please.

Quincy Martin

Does Sora's Keyblade count as a sword?

JoMo SlowMo

Since the nasty people at the Louvre didn't crown me gamer of the year 2025, I will reconsider my commitment to playing games. I absolutely won't buy another ubisoft game until they make me a Junior Vice President of Excellence or similar. Also, my favourite set piece and favourite sword are one and the same; the Sword of Damocles. Parentheses, I am being facetious. On a serious note I like train levels, those are fun.

Nosk

Is 2026 finally the year we get what literally every single one of us has been asking for? The remake of Aggressive Inline Skating for GCN/PS2?

LaboratoryManiac

My New Year's Resolution was to support indie creators, which is why I'm here on Patreon now, and also why I appreciated Marty's "20 Rad Games You Missed In 2025" video from yesterday. I wishlisted some of those games last night and played through "and Roger" before bed.

TooManySpreadsheets

CrossCode has a set piece around its midpoint involving a dungeon escape that combines intense plot revelations, character development, breaking gameplay power limits, pulsing music, and a crowning moment of awesome that makes me go "**** YEAH" every time I play it. Truly an underrated masterpiece.

Juicy Jeff

FromSoft's set piece bosses always benefit from a little cutscene prior to each fight to add tension and gravitas. Bosses without it like Pontiff Sulvyahn (DS3) or Guardian Ape (Sekiro) deserved some spotlight that would have made them greater than they already were.

Ishterical

I feel like a good gaming set piece has great music, makes your heart rate increase before you realize it, makes your eyes water because you don't want to blink just in case you miss something or mess up, and makes your hands cramp up at the end. At least, that is how I felt during the Silksong lava sequence. Lightsabers are still pretty cool. Plus if you have a few you can make a grill for some hotdogs.

Moosevelt

Big fan of Finn's golden sword from Adventure Time, its got a nice, cartoony asthetic to match the early series vibe. Fierce Deity sword and the Razor sword from Majora's Mask are dope too

Moosevelt

Agreed, the 70 star relay was great!

Paul Evans

Emotional setpiece: Cogwork Dancers Phase 3. It ticks all the boxes: evokes emotion (pity), expressed predominantly through gameplay (sudden difficulty drop), orchestrated but not a QTE (choreographed music).