Mike got Jane's Giant Killing FIFA challenge, Ellen got Andy's fighting game challenge, and Andy got Ellen's cute game challenge. Calling it now, Jane's challenge will be a racing game.
@@robstuart8474 Ellen plays a multitude of games and while she loves Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, etc.. She also seems to have a soft spot for extremely wholesome games like Stray (Another prior Xmas challenge that got Andy)
Knowing that a) Andy's never played this game and b) how annoyingly hard these challenge levels are, I thought he did great. As positive and encouraging as everyone was, I think it was a bit unfair to not walk Andy through the basic controls or give him like 2 minutes to learn literally the first attack the game gives you. Granted, this is nowhere near as bad as the Baldur's Gate challenge last year where Luke and Andry screwed Mike over. I just thought being allowed to learn basic controls would have been fair.
I agree. She should have explained the controls better to him and also let him play around on a different level or the crash site to let him get used to the controls. I've beaten the game, but I'm still struggling with the shape challenge levels.
@jayme3181 It kinda is actually given that the reason for the repeated choking was that he didn't know the controls because she didn't fully explain them.
Yeah, they really could have let him practice or fully explained the controls. I love the main sections, but I struggle so hard with the shape challenges. To the point that I still don't have the platinum for it because I get so frustrated by these shorter levels. I need to mute the game since I think the music makes me panic.
@@sean.chiarot I agree. Square is for punching mainly and throwing doesn't show up nearly often enough for her to describe square as being for throwing stuff. They also picked one of the more frustrating shape challenge levels. The Triangle ones are the only ones that I've beaten fully. I struggle with the 3 shape sections that came after that one.
The "laser double jump" for lack of a better word, reminds me of the way you move around Mario Sunshine with FLUDD... maybe that's why Andy's so frustated!
Regardless of the outcome, a truly impressive performance by Andy. He picked up the game and adapted to the course so well. And as always, I love how the whole team cheers each other on during these events even though they’re technically competing. Also, was that a deep cut from Jane bringing back her classic “tiny pink idiot” slam?!
Right? It's SO GOOD! These levels are such pains in the butt, though. I love this game and ten minutes is about the maximum amount of time I can make myself do these challenge levels.
Damn. Mike gets a reasonably difficult challenge made easier by the number of times he's done it. Ellen gets an impossible sounding challenge, trivialised by the game apparently being made for multiplayer only. Andy gets a fast-paced challenge requiring brilliant timing, input, and a fair bit of luck. I wonder what luck Jane will have! At least nobody can accuse you of having a simple challenge!
The shape levels are why I still don't have the platinum. I'm not sure I've beaten this particular one, but I might have. I think I need to mute the game since the music makes me panic and be too hasty. Andy might have had a better chance if they'd let him play around in the Crash Site or a different level to learn the controls. I think Ellen maybe forgot that Square isn't for only picking up and throwing stuff.
I like how during these Xmas challenges, even though its a competition where its better for your rivals to lose, the vibes are always supportive and cheering for everybody to succeed.
That was some edge-of-the-seat tension. Really well done, Andy! Thankfully there's plenty more to come, so lull them into a false sense of security...😉
I didn;t think Astro Bot would be this hard, damn. I love how encouraging everyone is, though. Especially Ellen; she's the best cherleader for the others.
Those are the optional challenge sections to rescue extra bots. I've beaten the whole game, but I still struggle with the shape levels because I'm not that good at platforming. They also didn't let Andy play around to learn the controls or tell him that Square is for punching (hold square to spin in a circle for extra punches).
@Mulbert That's one of my favorites too. I'm partial to the God of War one because of the music. I've never played a God of War game before, but I really liked that level.
@SolaScientia Yeah same, also I just played the Horizon Zero Dawn one, I found it hard to get into that game but I enjoyed the level so much it's made me want to give it another go!
@@Mulbert Yeah, I really liked that level, but I could not get into the actual game. I got it for free during the Play At Home thing they did during lockdown. After the world opened up and Aloy started exploring I got so bored. Aloy also got annoying to me. I don't think I like it enough to try the game again given how quickly I'd dropped it and all.
I haven't ever completed one of these challenge levels, only attempted a couple. As soon as I saw the map icon is said as a reflex "oh no" as the flashbacks to my many failed attempts came back xD
After two days of easy challenges.. Andy had to get the hard one haha Watch out guys though, cause Andy will judge the Pikachu challenge even harsher to let out his frustration at the PTSD from Jedi: Survivor :p
Serious versus fighting game : incredibly easy even blindfolded Cutesy 3D platformer : unfair unless you have evolved a special depth perception for games
Come on Andy Oh i swear you will be Christmas Champion, or I'll eat my peas Purple blobs suck One point down, give a fuck Its your moment Underdog this thing! - Dixie's Midnight Runners
There is no chronological way for me to have watched this in its entirety between its release and my commenting, so congratulations/ha ha ha as appropriate Andy!
I struggle so hard with the shape challenge parts of this game. I still haven't beaten this particular one. Andy can punch the squishy enemies that shoot the blobs at him. They could have explained the controls better and let him have some practice since he's never played the game before.
The Tekken one was only "easy" because Ellen won on hard. If she had lost, everyone would have said it was impossible because the difficulty was set too high. The challenge was that it was pure luck - this one was a race against time - and FIFA was never a difficult challenge if anyone here ever knew how to play the most popular game in the country (which Mike did a bit) 😂 This was clearly just about doable but difficult, so maybe 15 mins would have won it, but it wasn't impossible by any means..!
I think the main issue was that she went 3-0, almost without taking any damage, despite never having played the game before. Like, ideally you probably want to set the difficulty so that the average player has maybe ~50% chance of winning an arbitrary round. But who knows, maybe "Very hard" would be a big enough jump in difficulty that it would have been almost impossible for anyone to win - and that wouldn't make a great challenge either.
@sa-to-ri yeah but they had clearly tested the difficulty levels before, to find the winnable but balanced one, it's more likely she just lucked out with the two 'random' competitors?
@@TheYorkRose Are you sure they had tested the challenge blindfolded before? Maybe the person suggesting the challenge (Mike?) just picked a level he thought was appropriate. I don't know, maybe you're right. It just seems unlikely that the matchup would have that much of an effect (was she ever below 75% health in any single round?). Maybe she got extremely good RNG during the fights, but that also seems unlikely. If I had to guess, I would still guess that they never actually tried a blindfold fight in advance.
Mike got Jane's Giant Killing FIFA challenge, Ellen got Andy's fighting game challenge, and Andy got Ellen's cute game challenge. Calling it now, Jane's challenge will be a racing game.
we haven't seen Nude Jarl Punching yet, though
Does Ellen tend to play cutesy games? I thought Tomb Raider and Assassin's Creed were more her style.
@@robstuart8474 Ellen plays a multitude of games and while she loves Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, etc.. She also seems to have a soft spot for extremely wholesome games like Stray (Another prior Xmas challenge that got Andy)
@@masterwolf333 and she's mentioned several times that she LOVES Astrobot
@@arandomelle484 She was also the one explaining the controls and mechanics to Andy haha
"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GAUGE DEPTH!"
-Corazón, wearing his eyepatch.
As the challenge kicked off I did expect there would be flashbacks to last year's Jedi Survivor challenge
Wow. That was intense. Could this be the beginning of a new Xmas challenge tradition? Andy doing the fiddly platformer bit?
Calling it as well
We thought the Jane FIFA curse was broken, when really it was merely transferred to a new host
@Smeelio yeah no joke
He may not have got a Xmas point but I think Andy did incredibly well given his lack of experience with the game and limited time to do the challenge.
I've played the whole game and beaten the final boss and I still haven't finished that level!
Knowing that a) Andy's never played this game and b) how annoyingly hard these challenge levels are, I thought he did great.
As positive and encouraging as everyone was, I think it was a bit unfair to not walk Andy through the basic controls or give him like 2 minutes to learn literally the first attack the game gives you.
Granted, this is nowhere near as bad as the Baldur's Gate challenge last year where Luke and Andry screwed Mike over. I just thought being allowed to learn basic controls would have been fair.
ellen not telling andy about astro's spin attack, that would have helped so much
I agree. She should have explained the controls better to him and also let him play around on a different level or the crash site to let him get used to the controls. I've beaten the game, but I'm still struggling with the shape challenge levels.
It's not like she told him to repeatedly choke.
@jayme3181 It kinda is actually given that the reason for the repeated choking was that he didn't know the controls because she didn't fully explain them.
For someone who's never played the game before that was good for Andy
Ellen: It's better to just laser them from above.
*Andy fails multiple times because he doesn't know how to punch the purple blobs*
Oh man, they really set up Andy for failure on this one. No practice, no experience, one shot. This was a tough one.
Yeah, they really could have let him practice or fully explained the controls. I love the main sections, but I struggle so hard with the shape challenges. To the point that I still don't have the platinum for it because I get so frustrated by these shorter levels. I need to mute the game since I think the music makes me panic.
Andy got screwed on this one. Ellen's advice was more detrimental than helpful, I think
@@sean.chiarot I agree. Square is for punching mainly and throwing doesn't show up nearly often enough for her to describe square as being for throwing stuff. They also picked one of the more frustrating shape challenge levels. The Triangle ones are the only ones that I've beaten fully. I struggle with the 3 shape sections that came after that one.
@@SolaScientia good luck because the last one is brutal!
After the last 2 challenges and how incredibly easy those turned out to be, this one felt seriously disproportional compared to those.
I think it's just about the same level as blindly mashing buttons.
The "laser double jump" for lack of a better word, reminds me of the way you move around Mario Sunshine with FLUDD... maybe that's why Andy's so frustated!
On the third day of Christmas, Oxboxtra gave to me:
Three astro bots,
Two panda punches,
And a Port Vale pretzel scoring
Regardless of the outcome, a truly impressive performance by Andy. He picked up the game and adapted to the course so well. And as always, I love how the whole team cheers each other on during these events even though they’re technically competing.
Also, was that a deep cut from Jane bringing back her classic “tiny pink idiot” slam?!
I love how Andy seems to always get the stressful challenges, makes a great watch
I note Jane still stoically refuses to wear a Christmas sweater.
But she is wearing a nice striped jumper
@@davidmorris6707 almost like a candy cane... almost...
This being GotY Astro’s first appearance on the channel is mental
First heard of it watching the Game Awards lol
Right? It's SO GOOD! These levels are such pains in the butt, though. I love this game and ten minutes is about the maximum amount of time I can make myself do these challenge levels.
I mean…the channel is outside XBOX…I don’t even know why they are playing PlayStation lol
Yeah, they definitely have an on-again, off-again relationship with Playstation
Hold onto your Andy Canes, it's Day 3!
Damn. Mike gets a reasonably difficult challenge made easier by the number of times he's done it. Ellen gets an impossible sounding challenge, trivialised by the game apparently being made for multiplayer only. Andy gets a fast-paced challenge requiring brilliant timing, input, and a fair bit of luck. I wonder what luck Jane will have! At least nobody can accuse you of having a simple challenge!
Mike's was not difficult in any way, it was on the easiest difficulty where opponents just slowly walk towards your goal and are easily outplayed.
"Whatever you do, don't tell Andy he can punch with square."
It took me until the Xmas Challenges to see some actual Astro Bot gameplay. Looks fun.
Same 😆
Highly recommend it, it's a joyous game
I was going to say the same except that it doesn't look fun. Each to their own of course, but to me it just looks like another shiny platformer.
@@SamuelGeistthese levels are "challenge" difficulty. The others are a lot cuter and more fun.
Andy Farrant's new band Cutting Pumpkins ;)
This was so intense and cool to watch. Nice job Andy! I do feel like there is a big leap in difficulty between this and the Tekken challenge.
I remember doing all these levels. I also remember the rage...
The shape levels are why I still don't have the platinum. I'm not sure I've beaten this particular one, but I might have. I think I need to mute the game since the music makes me panic and be too hasty. Andy might have had a better chance if they'd let him play around in the Crash Site or a different level to learn the controls. I think Ellen maybe forgot that Square isn't for only picking up and throwing stuff.
I like how during these Xmas challenges, even though its a competition where its better for your rivals to lose, the vibes are always supportive and cheering for everybody to succeed.
That was some edge-of-the-seat tension. Really well done, Andy! Thankfully there's plenty more to come, so lull them into a false sense of security...😉
The Lost Void levels are no joke.
I didn;t think Astro Bot would be this hard, damn.
I love how encouraging everyone is, though. Especially Ellen; she's the best cherleader for the others.
Do you believe in life after failed Christmas challenges? I can feel something inside me say, “I really don’t think you’re strong enough.”
I love that this was obviously Ellen's suggestion, and she is so encouraging for Andy to succeed.
*waves hello to my good friend Patch*. Oxboxtra Xmas challenges are the highlight of the festive season.
I appreciate how the positive and supportive Ellen vibes spread to everyone in the final run.
9:35 I never realized Jane was Italian
Perfect idea for a challenge that one. I kinda wish I could see them all try it!
Loving the sweaters.
Death, taxes, Andy getting a Hitman challenge.
Wait, what? Format change!
glad to see Astro bot finally getting some love on the channel. fantastic game
🤘Still love that Intro! 🤘
You did awesomely, Andy, especially for this being your first time playing the game.
Think Andy’s challenge was probably the hardest so far. Good effort, Andy!
Andy… handle your business.
Ellen's such a supportive backseat gamer. So encouraging the whole way through even though it would benefit her to have Andy lose!
Astro Bot challenge: GOTY go fast!
That’ll teach Andy for calling it a kid’s game before, hahaha
That's a fun game is it?? The most infuriating thing I've seen since the Jedi one.
Those are the optional challenge sections to rescue extra bots. I've beaten the whole game, but I still struggle with the shape levels because I'm not that good at platforming. They also didn't let Andy play around to learn the controls or tell him that Square is for punching (hold square to spin in a circle for extra punches).
Most of the levels are lovely and relatively chill, my favourite one is the one set in a traditional Japanese bath house where you're a giant sponge
@Mulbert That's one of my favorites too. I'm partial to the God of War one because of the music. I've never played a God of War game before, but I really liked that level.
@SolaScientia Yeah same, also I just played the Horizon Zero Dawn one, I found it hard to get into that game but I enjoyed the level so much it's made me want to give it another go!
@@Mulbert Yeah, I really liked that level, but I could not get into the actual game. I got it for free during the Play At Home thing they did during lockdown. After the world opened up and Aloy started exploring I got so bored. Aloy also got annoying to me. I don't think I like it enough to try the game again given how quickly I'd dropped it and all.
Oh no! Andy didn't get a point!
Anyway...Cheering for Jane tomorrow already started 🎉
ive not played this game but, damn, that level looked genuinely difficult. good job on Andy for how well he did do
I haven't ever completed one of these challenge levels, only attempted a couple. As soon as I saw the map icon is said as a reflex "oh no" as the flashbacks to my many failed attempts came back xD
Perfectly stressful like Christmas :)
Poor Andy -- I imagine he WAS having all the Jedi Survivor flashbacks in that moment! Ooof...
Astrobot is now Andy's nemesis
Those symbols levels were really challenging. They should do a stream seeing who can get the quickest overall time on the speed run levels. 😁
We simply need Jane to “encourage” Astro Bot like she did Cal Kestis last year “DO IT BETTER CAL, DO IT BETTER!”
Considering Andy has never played the game, he did really well!
that was so intense watching the whole time. poor Andy, it gave it such a great go was hoping he was going to get it on that last run
After two days of easy challenges.. Andy had to get the hard one haha
Watch out guys though, cause Andy will judge the Pikachu challenge even harsher to let out his frustration at the PTSD from Jedi: Survivor :p
I still havent passed this one myself ... the second half is such a....
I found that level challenging when I got to it in my game.
Andy just forgot to handle his business
that was intense
3D platforming.. one of my many weaknesses!
Chests :) recording 1-3 on the same day 🎉
I know it's Tournament of Champions, but I hope you tackle The Splitter in Hitman.
This was deeply stressful breakfast viewing
Game of the Year!
Poor Andy
Arguably the hardest challenge yet. Or maybe it was just some unluckiness
The ad I watched before this video played gave me an idea. Hitman 3 ways to play kill Max Valliant
I prayed for Andy 😔
Well, that was stressfull. Especially in what is supposed to be chill game.
What has happened to show of the week?
Good try!
Holly Jolly time!!
That was gripping.
the way they all faced the camera when Andy called them cheaters xD
Andy dis super well and this reminded me why astro bot is not for me, i'm watching past challenges too so that luke will also be part of christmas.
I'm not the best at platformers but these levels are the outlier, the main levels are mostly chill fun
Serious versus fighting game : incredibly easy even blindfolded
Cutesy 3D platformer : unfair unless you have evolved a special depth perception for games
Come on Andy
Oh i swear you will be
Christmas Champion, or I'll eat my peas
Purple blobs suck
One point down, give a fuck
Its your moment
Underdog this thing! - Dixie's Midnight Runners
Those levels are difficult. No shame in being hit by those pink blobs.
Getting in early. Let's gooooo!
Whoo! Game of the year!!
andy did well considering his unfamiliarity with the game i think, i wouldn't want to be thrown into the deep end of a platformer like this!
We have Mario Sunshine at home
There is no chronological way for me to have watched this in its entirety between its release and my commenting, so congratulations/ha ha ha as appropriate Andy!
"There is no way for me to perceive depth here."
Incredible, I said the exact same thing when I played this level on Saturday! 🥲
@TheJakeJackson I'm on your side, honestly. Platformers have struggled with that aspect since the jump to 3D, but in that environment it's a joke!
Yay!
Poor Andy
Well at least 2 of these have been actual challenges, that EA FC one was a waste of time tbh. Very unlucky, Andy, good try!
I struggle so hard with the shape challenge parts of this game. I still haven't beaten this particular one. Andy can punch the squishy enemies that shoot the blobs at him. They could have explained the controls better and let him have some practice since he's never played the game before.
These weren't getting pushed to me for some reason
Hold on where was day 2
On OutsideXtra.
@gwishart thank you and d'oh
@@gwishart I'm only watching for a few years, so I still haven't go those (two!) channels sorted. Good thing the yt algo suggests them anyway.
This gave me [more] anxiety.
Why am I not seeing the day 2 challenge anywhere? Was it taken down or something?
It’s on Outside Xtra
I'm sorry but how did this get GotY
I've rooted harder for Andy. And even though he didn't make it to the end, he deserves all the points.
where is day 2?
Oxtra
@@andrewadamski8547 Ahh thanks!
Wait, where’s day 2?
Outside Xtra channel
On OXtra
The Tekken one was only "easy" because Ellen won on hard. If she had lost, everyone would have said it was impossible because the difficulty was set too high. The challenge was that it was pure luck - this one was a race against time - and FIFA was never a difficult challenge if anyone here ever knew how to play the most popular game in the country (which Mike did a bit) 😂 This was clearly just about doable but difficult, so maybe 15 mins would have won it, but it wasn't impossible by any means..!
I think the main issue was that she went 3-0, almost without taking any damage, despite never having played the game before. Like, ideally you probably want to set the difficulty so that the average player has maybe ~50% chance of winning an arbitrary round.
But who knows, maybe "Very hard" would be a big enough jump in difficulty that it would have been almost impossible for anyone to win - and that wouldn't make a great challenge either.
@sa-to-ri yeah but they had clearly tested the difficulty levels before, to find the winnable but balanced one, it's more likely she just lucked out with the two 'random' competitors?
@@TheYorkRose Are you sure they had tested the challenge blindfolded before? Maybe the person suggesting the challenge (Mike?) just picked a level he thought was appropriate.
I don't know, maybe you're right. It just seems unlikely that the matchup would have that much of an effect (was she ever below 75% health in any single round?). Maybe she got extremely good RNG during the fights, but that also seems unlikely. If I had to guess, I would still guess that they never actually tried a blindfold fight in advance.
@sa-to-ri no way for me to prove either way lol
Gaming
🙀
Well I timed this well.
I need proof that this challenge can actually be accomplished!!!
A moment to appreciate the greatness of the current gen, back in 360 times over half the length of this challenge would have been loading screens
Platform games are sooo 1980s, and not in a good way