Nick and Trevor regale Jonathan with the simple joys of zombie dismemberment in Dead Island 2, a worthy successor, if a bit delayed.

Jonathan and Nick recount purging lots of heretics in Inquisitor: Martyr, a great action game with a few rough edges, but absolutely lives up to the standards of the Warhammer 40K franchise lore.

If you're new to lore, don't miss Luetin's channel. https://www.youtube.com/@Luetin09

Jonathan and Nick discuss the pitch perfect vampire action/base-crafting game 'V Rising'. The name may be ridiculous, but the game is fun and flawlessly themed, aimed squarely at those seeking to wet their fangs playing a classic vampire.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Ghost of Tsushima, a true love letter to the struggle of the Samurai, and a very solid game besides. It oozes attitude and style, an absolute joy for any fan of Akira Kurosawa's works.

Jonathan regales about a phenomenal MetroidVania platformer with advancement integrated into the narrative, effective power design, beautiful art, exhilarating temptation and indulgent fulfillment of choices in Sundered: Eldritch Edition.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Elite Dangerous, a space-flight-simulator with ships, upgrades, combat, markets, factions, and space tourism. A bit complex, but deep, and a lot of fun.

Jonathan describes Hue, a platformer from the Epic Games store, a sidescrolling puzzler that makes good use of a single, versatile mechanic. Colorful and fun, with well-executed art and a hint of story.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: BreakPoint. Sometimes the industry succumbs to temptation. We'll see if they learn their lessons.

A recorded play session of Blades in the Dark, run by Nick, for Jonathan, John, Trevor, and Jason. The game is fantastic. The rest of the sessions will be available to all on our page Patreon.com/LiterateGamer

Jonathan and Nick speak with John Harper, creator of Blades in the Dark, an intricately well-designed Tabletop Role-Playing Game with a unique and novel world. This game is incredibly fun, slick as a shark, and John was a delight to speak with. You won't regret a listen! https://johnharper.itch.io/blades-in-the-dark https://johnharper.itch.io/lady-blackbird https://johnharper.itch.io/agon

Jonathan discusses Q: a Neon Platformer, a simple game that quickly spirals into a certain complexity and shiny fun. The developer sent me a code for this one, but I can honestly say that it's a good game. Check it out on Steam.

Jonathan and Nick discuss two great board games "Paladins of the West Kingdom" and "Root". These two are in the absolute top tier of worker placement games, and Root represents a true asymmetric experience. Both are well designed and fun to play, and available at your local game store, as well as on TableTop Simulator on steam.

Jonathan revisits a platformer classic: Mega Man X, available now in a collection on the switch. Still great, and at a great price.

Jonathan gushes about the inclusive and delightful dating-action romp, Boyfriend Dungeon.

Cassie Layton discusses her role as De Sardet, the Legate of the Merchant Congregation, in 'Greedfall', the 2019 narrative heavy, companion driven, RPG from the developer Spiders.

Jonathan waxes philosophical about Enter the Gungeon and Tormentor X Punisher, bullet hell shooters, proper game design, and mechanics.

Jonathan and Nick discuss "Mount and Blade 2: BannerLord", an 3rd-person action/kingdom management/simulation game with surprising quality, depth, and an aggressive update schedule. Prepare yourself for greatness, or devious banditry, whichever serves you best!

Jonathan tears through the over-the-top, heavy-metal style bloodbath Valfaris, leaving a pyre of unheeded tears, broken dreams, and flaming corpses in his wake...

Jonathan and Nick discuss The Outer Worlds, a skillful stride forward in true choice about how you advance your character and interact with the world and your companions. We're very happy to see developers making advances in the genre.

Jonathan visits Mega Man 10, a distillation of the best parts of the series, with options for new material and quality of life improvements: the best of both worlds.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Astroneer, a romp of crafting and spacewalk exploration, tailored for multiplayer fun and joy. Enjoy it with friends of all ages.

Jonathan recounts the joy of Mega Man 9: back to basics, the unbridled simplicity of Mega Man 2, and all the same fun. I highly recommend it for fans of the series.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Cities Skylines, a very well-crafted city-building game with lots of accurate-feeling urban planning, and a surprising number of learning moments that are completely natural and organic.

Jonathan recounts the honor, snark, and platforming sophistication of The Messenger, a triumph of a game, available on Steam and the Epic Store. Go get it.

Jonathan and Nick talk about Tiny Tina's Winderland, a goofy, first-person, looter-shooter: the first good successor to Borderlands 2 in quite some time.

Our friend and Patron Amir sponsored this episode for Kyleigh about her writing project about his game. We go into detail about this particular writing project, our feedback, tips, and tricks for authors.

Jonathan expounds on Star Control: Origins, a galactic exploration game with a strong focus on searching for resources planet-to-planet. Instead of focusing on battle, politics, and domination, this one is light and fun, with a cartoony vibe, and true to its core theme.

Nick tells Jonathan about Kerbal Space Program, an incredible space simulation game, and apparently training tool for the next generation of NASA.

Jonathan expounds on a fantastic sequel to a Link to the Past: A Link Between Worlds! A step outside of the usual Zelda formula, it represents adventurous new mechanics and story.

Nick and Tarn talk about the latest updates for Dwarf fortress, including the approaching Steam version, complete with visualizer and mouse controls. Also Jonathan is there. This game is always full of life and great emergent gameplay stories, as is the show, and not to be missed!

This is an exceptional podcast episode. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is decorated with amusing asides, details of pending releases, and descriptions of looming gameplay enhancements. On this podcast is the image of Tarn Adams, creator of Dwarf Fortress. He is surrounded by dwarves and carrying a capybara skull. Tarn Adams is contemplating the coming Steam Release.

Jonathan discusses The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, a Super-Nintendo classic, and not-to-be-missed entry in the Zelda franchise.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Tokaido and Pandemic, two fantastic board games that represent the two extremes of calmest competition and most desperate cooperation: both excellent and worth the cost of admission.

Jonathan expounds upon Hollow Knight: a very well crafted MetroidVania with beautiful art. It's a strong release with unique style.

Jonathan and Nick discuss GreedFall: proof that you don't need the highest budgets in the land to make a really awesome game. It's like Mass Effect 2 except more hack-and-slash (and magic and muskets) instead of a shooter. Definitely get it!

Jonathan visits the latest Shovel Knight expansion: King of Cards. It's a bit harder, but another fun romp in the great world that Yacht Club Games has created.

Jonathan recounts the joy of Kingdom: Two Crowns, a wonderful follow-up and enhancement to the original work. A pleasant and fruitful continuation of the series.

Jonathan and Nick discuss the last two decades of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games, from World of Warcraft to Star Wars: the Old Republic, to Destiny: the good, the bad, and where we go from here.

Jonathan discusses Catherine, a Playstation 3 game full of uncertainty, dark and mature themes, relationships, and timed block puzzles. It's very good, but not for the faint of heart.

Jonathan and Nick speak with Trevor about Remnant: from the Ashes, a third-person shooter with atmosphere and tendencies much like Dark Souls. It’s a very solid experience, fun from start to finish. We can’t wait for more content!

Jonathan reveals a new discovery, the board game platformer Slide Quest: quite ingenious, novel, with some real challenge at later levels! Check it out on BoardGameGeek.com: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271785/slide-quest

Jonathan and Nick discuss the true nature of genre in the wake of a variety of new Star Wars movies and shows, and a rich history of Star Trek and other properties. What is Science Fiction, and what is Fantasy or Western in Space? Listen in for the answers...

Jonathan erupts enthusiasm about this holiday spooktacular: Super Ghouls and Ghosts, a classic that still holds up, wonderful fun and fantastic monster-slaying action.

Jonathan and Nick discuss Russian philosophical science fiction masterpiece STALKER, spawned from the book "Roadside Picnic", along with three games of quality and a surprisingly vibrant mod community. The film is VERY GOOD.

A video on the making of the film: https://youtu.be/lhK7hMBli4s

Watch the movie on the Criterion Collection streaming service: https://www.criterionchannel.com/videos/stalker-1

Jonathan discusses Castlevania 64, the first 3D entry in the franchise. There are a few departures from form, but enough novelty and loyalty to the name that it remains fun and worthy of inclusion in the halls of whips and vampires.

Jonathan and Nick discuss the Metro franchise: Russian sensibilities and culture delivered through a first-person-shooter packaging. Join an in-depth discussion of oppressive claustrophobia and darkness made remarkably compelling.

The Miracle of Sound: “The Day the World Died” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvYi1MRvX_o

Jonathan expounds on a Nintendo classic, Metal Gear 2, when the franchise was still more platformer than soap opera: a great platformer and overall game.

Nick regails Jonathan of the joys and tribulations of Horizon: Forbidden west, highs lows, and lots of bows.

Amir speaks with Jonathan and Nick about A Dark Room on the Nintendo Switch, the saga of the secret programmability within, and whether Nintendo can take a joke. This is part 2 of our Amir Rajan double-feature.

Jonathan gushes about Indivisible: a new zenith in platformers. It's not a metroidvania, preferring instead to radiate joy from every pore, with beautiful art and voice-acting, difficult jumping puzzles, and a unique combat system focused on custom combos and split-second timing. It's not easy, but is always tons of fun. I highly recommend it!

Now on Switch, Steam, PS4, and XBox One. https://indivisiblegame.com/

Jonathan and Nick discuss Nier Automata with Amir Rajan, games, philosophy, and everything. We ended up recording for two hours, of which this is the first. We get really deep into this, and you won't regret listening.