What with the hectic holiday season and all the game of the year madness, we were so busy talking about games that we didn't have time to talk about games-adjacent things like Secret Level.  The streaming anthology series takes direct inspiration from some very well known (and not so well known) games, so we sat down to debrief on what makes a good short-form cross-media game story.  Honestly, we're still having nightmares about the Pac-Man episode.

The Switch 2 announcement is here and it made a splash, but it's one of those tiny little splashes you see at the Olympics. Classic Nintendo, no notes. Join us this week as we discuss, dissect, and have a laugh with the Switch 2 announce trailer.

I can't believe we missed out on the most important PlayStation Pro news when we talked about it a couple weeks ago.  Yes, your long nightmare of dealing with disorganized lose paper is over: Sony has created a solution and it only costs $1000.  But hurry: there's only 12,300 in existence, so act quickly or else you'll have to go crawling back to Clippy.  We dig into this as well as more stories on Professor Layton, Microsoft R&D, and Nintendo's secret police this week.

After watching the recent Batman movie, we came to a couple conclusions: 1) Batman's gamer tag is probably "V3ngence_420" and 2) there are some very interesting parallels between this latest cinematic take on the caped crusader and recent video game portrayals. This week we dive into the movie as well as various Batman games and how they've built on such an iconic character.

An update to the last podcast, Sony has updated their subscription policies and offerings and it's honestly getting better. Also, Netflix had a very bad week. Will they really invest heavily in gaming in the near future? Subscribe to find out!

Show Notes:

This week we're dipping into some recent and headlines around game difficulty as well as the difficulty of putting on a physical event in the year 2022. Games like Eldin Ring and Tunic are still very much top of mind and their popularity has brought people to revisit how best to navigate the balance between challenge and letting players experience all a game has to offer. Back on the release and conference front, we talk about some MIA Nintendo games as well as the increasingly unpredictable future of everyone's favorite reason to escape from LA: E3.

This week on the EXP Podcast, we fight hordes of monsters in the bullet-hill homage to Castlevania - Vampire Survivors. We also revisit and share some closing thoughts on Tunic and Elden Ring. Now, on to the Pacifist Pete run!

Show Notes:
- Music by Brad Sucks and Vampire Survivors

The video game subscription scene got a bit more crowded this week after Sony revealed their new PlayStation Plus tiers. It's clear they're leaning into the retro angle as well as streaming games, but how does it compare to what Microsoft and Nintendo are doing? This week we do some analysis as well as grapple with the tangled web of monthly recurring bills that has come to comprise the bulk of our entertainment budgets.

This week on the EXP Podcast, we get into Tunic - an adorable little homage to Zelda that actually seems pretty difficult. We also get back on the Elden Ring horse (Torrent, I guess), and explore what makes this game, or all Souls games, special.

Every year, Jorge and I play Journey on the anniversary of its release. We don't always talk about it since, honestly, if you took a drink every time we mentioned Journey on any randomly-selected show you'd probably be rushed to the hospital before the episode ended. However, this year is special: we are celebrating a decade of Journey! We're ten years in and still finding new things to appreciate about one of the medium's truly outstanding works. We hope you can join us in continuing the discussion and perhaps even go with us on next year's trip through the desert?

It's back to the beginning to discuss some of the best intros. Inspired by this Top 13 list, we talk about our own favorite introductions and why if you're new to the Souls franchise and playing Elden Ring you should really jump into holes.

Show notes:
* Music by Brad Sucks

Gather round, fellow Tarnished, and let us trade tales of accidentally falling off cliffs, getting one-shotted by weird tree monsters, and compulsively picking berries. Elden Ring is here and it's time to do an initial debrief on our early hours with the game. It appears to be a massive undertaking, so we will likely do subsequent check ins as we progress. For now though, let's enjoy a moment of peace in our very own site of lost grace.

The Elden Ring is almost here, which means we are just biding our time with some video games and honing reflects and patience. This week on the Podcast, we speculate about what's coming in Elden Ring and follow-up with some thoughts on Sifu, the new Kung-Fu inspired brawler, and Subnautica, an older but fascinating deep-sea survival game.

Show Notes:

This week on the podcast, we discuss two of the most charming love-letters to video games of all time, both of which are not just loaded with nostalgia, but also amazing games (or games-in-games) all on their own!

Show notes:

- Music from the Astro Bot Launch Trailer and the UFO 50 Launch Trailer

What if they made a Pokemon game where Pokemon actually roamed the countryside? What if you could actually interact or be attacked by wild Pokemon? What if catching 'em all involved stealthy, precision pokeball tosses? Sometimes we think about the alternate history or hypothetical tangents our favorite franchises and genres could take. This week, we use Pokemon Legends: Arceus as a starting point to discuss what happens when an established idea or approach takes an unusual turn. Is it everything we hoped for or should we be careful about we wish for? All I know is that, no matter what the future holds, I have an army Bidoofs at my disposal.

Just when you thought tipping your barista 20% was spending big, Microsoft shocked the industry spending well over 60 billion (yes, BILLION) on an acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Now Sony's getting in with a Bungie acquisition. This week on the podcast, we talk about the big industry buyouts!

Time to jack in! Now that all the game of the year and new year's talk is out of the way, it's time to get back to what really matters: The Matrix. Between Resurrections' divisive reception and the recent Unreal 5 demo, Neo and friends have been top of mind. This week, we debrief about how video games and the Matrix intersect and evolve together. Whether we still know kung fu is up for debate.

We are back from our short year-end hiatus ready to blast forward into 2022. Which means it's time to talk about some of our most anticipated games of this year, many of which may not come out, well, ever! From little indie darlings to major blockbusters, this is shaping up to be another great year to play all kinds of diverse and interesting games.

Show Notes:

* Music by Brad Sucks

It's 2022, but we haven't quite finished the last crumbs of 2021 yet. This week, we partake in the annual tradition of delicious leftovers: games that we didn't quite get to on our games of the year show. I wonder what a Lombax's favorite dessert is and whether it's easy to microwave?

The year is finally over, which means it's time to count down our top games of 2021! It has been a wild year, with a ton of diverse and interesting games that caught our attention. Have a favorite game you want to shout out? Send us an email with your favorites!

Show Notes:

Santa arrived early this year friends: It is time once again for the Gamey Awards. It's our loving tribute to/roast of the end-of-year awards season, complete with custom categories, long debates about subjective art, and pseudo slash fic. Join us in donning your tuxedos (or at least your tuxedo t-shirts), pour a glass of champagne mixed with Mountain Dew, and get ready to turn this show into an NFT.

The end of the year GOTYs are almost here! Wwhich means we are frantically playing as many games as we can before 2021 is over. This week, we review a few different indies, from a far-flung sci-fi future to a fantasy animated adventure.

Don't forget to tune-in over  the holidays for our yearly Gamey Awards, our top games of the year, and the year ahead!

Shuffle those decks and bust out your floppy drives: it's time to talk about Inscryption!  This week we talk about the Fall's most popular deck building/horror/meta narrative.  Let's just say there are quite a few layers to excavate on this one, so expect a healthy amount of both mechanical and story spoilers in this debrief!

From the beautiful vistas of Piltover to the decrepit alleys of Zaun, there is a lot to explore in the latest video game adaptation to grace our television and the front page of Netflix. This week on the EXP Podcast, we join our good friends Jinx, Vi, Jayce, and a few other characters from League of Legends as we review Arcane, a new animated series of Riot Games.

Is this the new pillar of video game adaptations?

Show Notes:

* Music from the Arcane OST

The PlayStation 5 Pro was formally announced and I have to say that my favorite part by far was listening to the calming timbre of Mark Cerny's voice as he explained highly technical things in a way that made me feel like I could understand it.  His sonorous, professorial presentation was perhaps the only thing that could have calmed my jangled nerves after seeing that $700 price point.  This week, we discuss the announcement and what we think it means for the PlayStation landscape.

If there are two things Jorge and I are comforted by, it's dinosaurs and pixel art. This week, we get to partake in both as we share some initial impressions on Jurassic World Evolution 2 and Eastward. The seem different on the surface, but I'd argue that if both of them put us in the same happy frame of mind, then there must be some shared DNA. Dino DNA as Mr. DNA might say.

Samus Aran is back... but in a dreadful state! This week on the EXP Podcast, we hop into Metroid Dread and empty our salvo of missiles into the latest blend of side-scrolling horror-stealth.... uh.... Metroidvania-style thing.

Show Notes:

- Music from the Metroid Dread OST

Bloodborne as an alternate reality PlayStation 1 release? Nintendo does its classics dirty? Uncharted and the snake that ate its own tail? Alright I guess that's why Sony didn't ask for my advice in naming the movie. This week we catch up on some fall headlines as we start to gear up for the end of the year.

We're back into the never-ending cycle of violence with Deathloop! This week on the show, we dive into a spoiler-filled discussion of Deathloop from start to finish, then back to start, then finish again... you get the idea.

Show Notes:
- Music from the Deathloop OST

We're almost always a two-person show around these parts, but when it comes to games, it seems like four is the magic number. Inspired by a recent Polygon article about why so many multiplayer games anchor around a four-player concept, this week is all about quad squads. Is it technology or society that has us hooked on four as a sweet spot? Look into the four chambers of your heart and decide.

The Forever-War against online toxicity continues and the latest victim may be All Chat. Riot Games recently announced they will be testing out a  new policy in which players can no longer text chat with the opposing team, calling it a "vehicle for toxicity." This week on the podcast, we jump right into that vehicle and drive around for a while to see how it feels with and without a direct line to the enemy team.

Show notes:
- Music by Brad Sucks

Check your watches: it's time to talk about time! This week we spend more than 12 minutes on Twelve Minutes (you're welcome) and do a brief check in on Deathloop. I think we manage to stop ourselves before we get too repetitive, but we'll let you be the judge of that. Judge of that. Judge of that...

This week on the EXP Podcast, we cover some recent news stories that include intentionally playing a game slowly, historical simulations of slavery, the end of an arcade icon, and Star Wars!

Show Notes:

What's almost as good as playing games? Thinking about playing games! This week we do a recap of Sony's recent showcase and think about what it will be like to play some of the upcoming titles. Based off how this year and how development timelines are going, we're assuming we'll be playing them while wearing jet packs powered by cold fusion.

This week on the EXP Podcast, we go back into the dungeon full of birds, bosses, and sexy swords. We are finishing off the discussion started in Episode 631 with a full debrief and spoiler discussion of Death's Door and Boyfriend Dungeon. Come on in for some smooches!

Show Notes:
* Music from Death's Door OST and Boyfriend Dungeon OST

As the saying goes: "Grand opening, grand closing."  This week we recap the baffling Concord situation and what it means as part of the broader game landscape.  Along the way we check in on some other games, ranging from Flock, to Black Myth: Wukong, and Deadlock as part of a late summer check in.

This week we fall back into our ruts. Or maybe it's not that dire and we're actually slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes? Whichever way you see it, the point is that we're creatures of habit and those habits tend to manifest in the way we play games. Be it our buying patterns or just how we manage in-game inventory, it's easy to slip into the same old patterns. Some are funny, some are annoying, and most are expensive in some way or another, so listen in and let us be examples of what not to do!

Everything is in Fortnite, even Martin Luther King Jr., and Fortnite is in everything, even Magic the Gathering. Today on the podcast, we explore what Fortnite has become, a larger-than-life conglomeration of fandoms, part music-venue, part game-engine, part ever-shifting IP. Is Fortnite becoming the most powerful and versatile gaming platform around today?

Sharpen your swords and your beaks: it's time to fight, but also to love. This week we talk about Boyfriend Dungeon and Death's Door. Both games caught our attention as well as imaginations. When it comes to weapon romance, what's your type? How does a crow wield daggers? Will we ever perfect our rolling abilities? All this and more will be revealed; just step through this not at all foreboding door.

This week on the EXP Podcast, we catch up on some recent hardware news about Valve's new handheld device: the Steam Deck. We share some reasons we might actually love this thing and some reasons why you might not. And well can we actually try it ourselves? Who knows!?

This week we're enjoying a grab bag of games that are getting us through the dog days of summer. What better way to pass the time than watching a Pikachu viciously dunk on a Snorlax? Or how about experimenting with recreational drugs in a cyberpunk wasteland? Or if that's not your scene, could I interest you in some material that was "liberated" from Shinra's R&D facility? Maybe you could use it as currency in your favorite free-to-play game?

The Olympics are bigger, more complicated, and more rules-heavy then ever. Is it almost time for esports to take the stage? OK, how about competitive tag at least?

Show Notes:

* Music by Brad Sucks

I have my issues with our particular dimension of reality and all its various...quirks...but games like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart prove that there is definitely fun to be had.  We've finished the game, so this week we're doing a full debrief on both the mechanics and the plot.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to converting my sprinkler system into an anti-robot security network.

Nintendo is back at it again with a confounding, exciting(?), and curious update to their Nintendo Switch hardware lineup. Stand aside Switch Lite! Out of the way Nintendo Pro! Let's give an exciting applause for the Nintendo Switch OLED Model. That's right it's... *checks notes* slightly bigger!

Join us this week to have some jolly fun and discussing what we do find exciting about incremental upgrades.

Ghost of Tsushima, Sony goes on a buying spree, Magic loses its...magic? The long, protracted summer of game announcements continues! Who would have guessed that a severely altered and smaller E3 would actually succeed in scattering a bunch of game news spores across the entire month of June? Far be it from us to look a gift horse in the mouth. This week, we talk about everything from director's cuts to Internet conspiracy theories as we continue wade through the flood of announcements and rumors.

This week on the EXP Podcast we jump into some early mini-debriefs on some new games, including Insomniac's gorgeous Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village, and a couple more older and upcoming treats.

We're off to Germany this week to discuss some of the exciting  - and not-so-exciting - news coming out of Gamescom 2024. News, Molyneuxs, and more, oh my!

Show Notes:

The multi-day fever dream that somewhat resembled E3 is over. This week we survey some of the notable announcements. These takes are so hot that you'd need the world's most powerful mini fridge to cool them down. Lucky for you: your friends at Microsoft have just the solution.

This week we hop onto the Pokémon Snap train... that slow, trudging train though a bizarro zoo, and report back with our findings. We also gush about some upcoming chill games that caught our interest ahead of the big E3 weekend!

This week we take a breath between Returnal runs and before what is most definitely going to be a very weird E3 to talk about some news stories. Lots of loose talk swirling around about everything from new Final Fantasy games to new Valve hardware, so join us in the rumor mill. Just know that if anyone releases a semi-portable console with the form factor of a standard computer keyboard, they stole the idea from us.