Explore every episode of the podcast The Crate and Crowbar

Jamie and Marsh reel from Microsoft’s latest layoffs, mismanage time in Hades 2, paddle in the uncanny, chlorinated waters of Pools, devour the bite-sized city-building triumphs of Against the Storm, and indulge their flaws in The Thaumaturge. The last lay offs of 2024. Thankfully there won’t be any more of those! Phew!! Nathan Brown’s Hit [...]

Jamie and Alex show their cards in deck-builders Balatro and Cobalt Core (poker- and space-flavoured respectively), before descending into the chaotic, cavernous depths of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and finally wrangling Dead Red Redemption 2 into completion. Balatro Cobalt Core Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Red Dead Redemption 2 You can hang out with us and [...]

Chris and Marsh discuss disappointing children’s entertainment, disappointing sales figures, anti-mnemonic naming choices, the rulebreaking delight of card game Balatro, the dishonourable cheeses of Honor Mode in Baldur’s Gate 3, and return once more to Night Country. AI wrote cheques that Willy Wonker simply could not cash. Immortals of Aveum may not have sold well, [...]

Jamie and Marsh discuss the latest seasons of Fargo and True Detective, two anthology shows about troubling crimes and the yet more troubled cops who investigate them. Fargo was originally a film by the Coen Brothers, and was adapted to TV by Noah Hawley, who is also known for the show Legion. Also mentioned: Happy [...]

Join Jamie and Chris as they join Past Jamie for a solo pod about train-sets and low-key terror in the demo deluge of Steam Next Fest. Then they return to the present, which is also now the past, to discuss smushing bugs in the name of Super Earth in Helldivers 2. All aboard the Jamie [...]

Tom F joins Marsh to make the biggest sticks in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, become the stick in Pacific island adventure Tchia, stick to walls in Jusant and stick it to space pirates in timeloop deckbuilder Cobalt Core. Just forbidden enough: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is Tom’s game of 2023. Tactical Breach Wizards [...]

Marsh and Chris celebrate the new year by poking the wound in our psychic gestalt. Also: are AI tools ethical? Yeah, we solve that one. 100%. Bosh. Done. Also also: space whale visual novel South Scrimshaw, team shooter The Finals, Robocop: Rogue City, mystery game This Bed We Made, Pentiment and Cocoon. Alex’s COVID-recovery blogpost. [...]

Chris, Jamie and Marsh reminisce on the year that was, the teeth they lost, oceans they regret leaving, algorithms that have failed them and, very eventually, the games they played. Bold takes on Baldur’s Gate, Dave the Diver, Cult of the Lamb [sexy], Witchfire and Chants of Sennaar. Games of the year we give barely [...]

Jamie and Marsh voyage into their deepest nightmare – a metatextual commentary on the subjective nature of storytelling – and shine a light on Alan Wake 2, then decide to incarcerate their dying, plaque-filled brains in the philosophical puzzle islands of The Talos Principle 2. Alan Wake 2 Twin Peaks: The Return The Simpson’s Steamed [...]

Tom S and Jamie don spandex and fling themselves into the uncynical optimism of Spider-Man 2, recall Tom Hardy’s come-hither Mr Tumble, return to both an up-res’d and a remade Resident Evil 4, and finish with a snifter of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. You don’t want to find yourself in that kind of posse. It [...]

Tom S and Marsh switch their feet for tank tracks, and every other part of their body for bazookas, in Armored Core VI, suffer orb separation anxiety in Cocoon, enjoy to the janky return to Night City in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, and stab through Baghdad in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. It’s the rockets you don’t [...]

Tom F, Jamie and Marsh pause time to queue up their synchronised takes on peerless piratical stealth game, Shadow Gambit, enjoy the sights of Baldur’s Gate biggest Big Town, curtly dismiss Starfield, and triumphantly reinvade Stroggos in a revamped Quake 2. So, Unity absolutely shit the bed. Godot and GameMaker are also available. Shadow Gambit: [...]

Tom S, Jamie and Marsh roll up to Baldur’s Gate 3, a distressingly horny roleplaying masterpiece, discover the cancel culture of The Wonderful 101, and use demons like yo-yos in Astral Chain. Baldur’s Gate 3, a CRPG classic in the making, and one of the sluttiest games ever made D&D roleplay podcasts: The Adventure Zone, [...]

Chris, Tom S and Marsh immolate dogs in the fields and fields and fields of Final Fantasy 16, plunder the pseudo-Yarnhams and battle-Narnias of Remnant 2, and step into the frame of Viewfinder, but remain puzzlingly unpuzzled. Final Fantasy 16’s coverage so far has hidden its kaijus beneath a very large bushel, and a very [...]

Chris, Alex and Marsh creak, rasp and seep from their respective tombs to bewail the passing of the years on this, the 10th anniversary of the podcast. Plus: fulton fun in Mr Sun’s Hatbox, killer crocs in Hunt: Showdown, démodé dipsticks in Max Payne 3 and a terrible quiz. Best games of the last decade? [...]

Jamie and Marsh journey into the distant past in the hopes of forging an alternate timeline where the episode’s prologue makes sense. In doing so, they ponder the dark Drakes of Uncharted 4, the deranged doubts of LA Noire and the dream dogs of Bloodborne. Outlander references clearly do not possess the anticipated levels of [...]

Jamie, Tom S and Marsh emerge from a morass of pod-opposites to deliver belated takes on Not E3, chicken sandwiches, grimdark clicker game Diablo IV and the latest season of Chess. Nick Cage has been turned into Dead by Daylight DLC Assassin’s Creed: Mirage Starfield Citizen Sleeper 2 Star Wars: Outlaws Baby Steps Kunitsu-Gami: Path [...]

Jamie joins Marsh to discuss the imminent game glut, puzzlesome reverse dog-trial Humanity, super-stylish brawler Sifu and clever Counter-Strike-alike Veiled Experts. Diablo, Street Fighter 6 and Amnesia: The Bunker are all poised for release, while Bungie’s Marathon jangles gaudily on the distant horizon. Quirky puzzler Humanity has lots of bodies but perhaps fewer brains. Flee [...]

Chris, Jamie and Marsh commit goblin puzzlecrimes in the high-altitude sandbox of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom, and exchange gems for beards in the thoroughly-explained yurts of Jedi: Survivor. Surefire GOTY for some, intimidating possibility-space for others: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom. Return me to the reassuring monkey-bars and [...]

Marsh and Jamie’s treason finally consigns them to Darkest Dungeon 2, where they lament what Jedi Survivor means for Marsh’s wallet, unpick The Spider of Lanka’s web of intrigue, have a cold shower in Shadows of Doubt and plunge headfirst into Thumper VR. Triumphantly grim roguelike roadtrip sequel, Darkest Dungeon 2. More soon, ish, on [...]

Chris and Marsh gather, along with unwelcome centipedes and a man who knows about doors, to discuss the cosy horror of fishing game Dredge, the most annoying hand of Marvel Snap and why STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order is crunchy like a biscuit but tastes like yoghurt. Dredge: fear the real ocean William Related fishy [...]

Marsh is joined by game dev and writer Jim Rossignol to discuss the grotesque tabletop roleplaying game they have made together. It’s called TEETH, it’s about occult criminality in a cursed corner of 18th century England, and it’s Kickstarting right now! Kickstart TEETH (if you like)! Watch our Kickstarter trailer at the link above or [...]

In which Tom Senior and Jamie Brittain convene in the past to talk about a lot of games to be released in the next year or so, and beyond! Part 2 hopefully to be recorded soon! Here’s a Youtube playlist of trailers for the games mentioned. Super Mario Galaxy Monster Hunter Rise Destiny 2 Elden [...]

It’s a laid-back one this week as Jamie and Tom S convene to admire the gentle art of booting a panda through a wall in Tekken 7. There’s more spectacular booting to be had in DmC: Devil May Cry and the stompy Dead Space remake, but can any of this compare to the thrill of [...]

Separate children, Jamie and Chris, de-schism to become a single mass with opinions on lying down, class-traitor sandwich praxis, the tragic dynamics of a friendship defined by Sonic/Batman, the Steam Deck, Hi-Fi RUSH, Burnhouse Lane and Marvel Snap. Why not pair The Sonic Movie with the lavish mediocrity of Death on the Nile? There are [...]

Tom S and Marsh climb into a big bin of telly trash and wallow in the sugary delights of nutrient-free reality TV from Big Brother through Bake-Off to The Traitors. Shows that we mention: Big Brother The Great British Bake-Off Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares Easy Bake Battle Is It Cake? Masterchef: The Professionals Baking Impossible [...]

Jamie, Tom S and Marsh press the electric brain’s hot-take button to generate plausible opinions on proc-gen classic Dwarf Fortress, Marvel deck-builder-tactics mash-up Midnight Suns, animated medieval manuscript mystery Pentiment, and genealogical rogue-lite Rogue Legacy 2. Press A to advance through perplexingly titled visual novel Umineko When They Cry. The triumphant Steam release of modern [...]

Chris and Marsh wash away their Mayonnaise Sins only to commit the far worse crime of liking parts of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Also: the pokable pencils of A Little to the Left and suspicious horses in Roadwarden. The Golden Chicken and Meat Market in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit, is a very [...]

Jamie and Marsh drive a jeep through the questionable exoticism of Uncharted: Lost Legacy and peevishly waddle about in the ambiguous middle distance of Somerville. Tom F’s great post on chess. Matinee adventure expandalone, Uncharted: Lost Legacy, is part of the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (can you have a “collection” which comprises just two [...]

Jamie and Tom Senior convene to talk Marvel Snap, God Of War, and assorted other nonsense. Listen as two increasingly old men get misty eyed about Ataris and Amigas for the very first time on the internet – doze off to the sweets sounds of a 40 year old game. Marvel Snap is very good [...]

Would-be body-doubles for Rocket Raccoon, Chris and Marsh talk through the MCU thus far, where it’s going, pop music that is also a building, multiversal eels and erotically-charged neck injuries. Phase 1: Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Iron Man 2 Thor Captain America: The First Avenger The Avengers / Avengers Assemble Phase 2: Iron Man [...]

Tom F and Marsh rescue a marriage with magnets in It Takes Two, accurately identify horrible verbs in The Case of the Golden Idol, fail to impress girls with our animal handling in I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, and get nostalgic about gibs in Cultic. Wonky v Janky. Fight! Jorbs – an offensively chill Slay [...]

Chris and Marsh galavant gleefully through the ponds of low-key collect-em-up Paradise Marsh, plunge their wounded hands into the sticky holes of firstperson horror-puzzler Scorn, and pop poxwalkers in co-op shooter Darktide. Have a delightful time collecting cool beetles and talking to psychopathic French star-spiders in Paradise Marsh. Have a horrible time, in a good [...]

Jamie and Marsh summon nightmarish first person arena shmup Hyper Demon, wreck noobs in hellish children’s maths game Numbots, rip and tear demons in throwback shooter Prodeus and discover exactly as much of The Evil Within 2 as their souls can bear. Hyper Demon is a sequel of sorts to Devil Daggers, both brilliant shmups [...]

Jamie and Marsh strike from the shadows in retro stealth game Gloomwood, mount horrible dogs in No Man’s Sky, flip pixel puzzles in Taiji, enjoy courtly nudity in Crusader Kings 3 and question creepy nudity in Immortality. Superb Early Access first-person stealth-em-up in the vein of Thief: Gloomwood Enjoy the carefully tuned atonal honks of [...]

In which Tom Senior and Jamie Brittain convene to report back on their recent exploits in Multiversus, chat in an entirely spoiler free way about Immortality, jabber about, and then speculate on what divine revelations might be about to occur to Tom Senior, Cyborg Boy after his recent appointment with one of them high Bath [...]

Marsh and Chris bestow their tepid devotions upon Last Call BBS, Cult of the Lamb, and Hard West 2. Plus: the momentary return of questions, emanating – as they ever have – from questions. Quiverin’ Marsh has been tinkering with Zachtronics’ Last Call BBS. …which leads us to speculate coquettishly about Alex and his MiSTer. [...]

Marsh, Tom F and Graham study the evidence for and against true crime dramas and documentaries. Join us in the accusing parlour as we interrogate The Staircase (both documentary and drama), Sophie: A Murder In West Cork, The Unsolved Murder Of Beverly Lynn Smith, The Investigation and The Murders At Starved Rock. We consider the [...]

In this Accidental Annapurna Special, Alex and Chris discuss the joy of driving big boats in FAR: Changing Tides, and the wanton nature of animal games, as reflected by the latest big animal game, Stray. You know, the cat game! Also! News on Pip’s new game she’s doing called Flock, and Alex tells the unhappy [...]

Join Jamie Brittain and Alex Wiltshire on the muggy spectrum, where we discuss the shrinking spaces of Elden Ring, the very Xbox 360 thrills of Geometry Wars and Halo 3, and briefly touch on the ludicrous joys of Dmc. Also! We find out what the guy over Jamie’s back gate is up to, discover how [...]

Storied dungeon master Jim Rossignol joins Marsh to talk about the joy of pretending to be scoundrels, goblins and doomed spacemen, and why you should venture beyond the vast borders of Dungeons & Dragons to do so. Discussed: Blades in the Dark, Agon, Mothership, Symbaroum, Numenera, DIE & more! Mohican Dwarf: an early role-model. Dungeons [...]

Pip, Tom F, Chris and Marsh gather to discuss the oldest recipe, what windows are and whether objects are real. Also! Videogames: The Wild at Heart, Citizen Sleeper, Norco and Hellsinger. Also also: the return of Questions from Questions and, thrice-also, a quiz. Zachtronics is shutting down with one more game: Last Call BBS The [...]

Jamie and Marsh climb into their effluent splattered diving-bell and plunge into the bowels, literal and metaphorical, of Mad God, the wildly deranged, deeply harrowing stop-motion masterpiece from animation legend Phil Tippett. Bon appetit! Mad God has been released on Shudder, a horror streaming service. Fellow Hell-depicters of yore: Hieronymous Bosch and Pieter Breughel This [...]

Jamie and Marsh discuss the highlights, or rather the extensive mid-range tones, of the E3 week that wasn’t, delight in Next Fest’s demos for Old Skies and Agent 64: Spies Never Die, and usher in the doom of humankind in Shadows of Forbidden Gods. Geoff Keighley’s twitching automaton presents Summer GameFest aka Keigh-3. Enjoy it [...]

Jamie, Chris and Marsh dive into the kaleidoscopic weirdness of Everything Everywhere All at Once. Join us as we discuss it in the context of such cultural touchstones as Christopher Nolan’s Fart Clock, musical instruments designed to make children faint, and Crysis 2. Lots of spoilers, almost from the outset, and even in the cast [...]

Chris and Marsh mull over videogame fictions on TV, reject the inhumanity of space capitalism in Citizen Sleeper, embrace the inhumanity of space capitalism in Dune: Spice Wars, bounce off Dracula’s digs in V Rising, and get their Sokob-on in Jelly Is Sticky. Sony says its creating TV series based on Horizon, God of War [...]

Graham, Jamie and Alex delight in being terrible at traditional roguelikes. Recklessly quaff an unidentified potion, dodge the snapping maw of an ASCII eel, and join us as we plunge into the unknown, die horribly, and rise again. This is a pod about the more closely related descendents of Rogue! E.g… Brogue! The Community Edition [...]

Tom S is joined by Jamie and, I believe, a blackbird to chat formative gaming experiences, co-op caving in Deep Rock Galactic, oddly named leggings in Injustice 2 and the many delights of the Steam Deck. Jamie cut his teeth on games like SpaceQuest and Monkey Island. Defunct game mag of yesteryear: PC Zone. It [...]

Graham, Tom S and Marsh have somehow found the time to watch, then rewatch and even discuss The Batman, the recent bladder-bursting film directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson. Obviously, we spoil the film. Don’t listen or read below if you have yet to see the film and wish any of its surprises [...]

Tom S, Chris and Marsh gather to discuss wedding whoopsies, monkey winkies, Weird West’s wonkiness, Nobody Saves the World’s classy class combos and Bloodhunt’s world of darkness warzoné. Congrats to Tom S and Emma! May your union be unmarked by further calamity. Embracer Group acquire Eidos, associated studios and their IP from Square Enix for [...]