• Star Wars: Zero Company
• Star Fox (64)
• Yoshi games and learning how to use a controller
• Final Fantasy Resonance

• Gamescom Announcements
• A bit about the Steam Controller (2026, not 2015)
• RoboQuest
• Star Wars: Zero Company
• Monster Hunter Stories 3
• Games from Dragonflight

• Walking Big
• Uncharted Water Origins
• Horizon's Gate
• New Minature Games Editions (Warhammer, Necromunda, Fallout, Star Wars Legion, Battletech)
• Gunfire Reborn
• Draw Steel Master Classes
• Ashes 2.0 & Co-op card games
• Archives of Trevosa

• Fields of Mistria 1.0
• GenCon 2026
• Nimble & Beast World
• Pokemon TTRPGs
• Detective Grimoire
• Infinity Bounce

This week we came together to remember the friend we lost, and reflect on our experiences, memories, and time together. Mostly this one speaks for itself.

After a mostly understandable break, we return with a mostly normal show. Topics include Cozy Grove and its recently-released sequel, lots of the crew falling back into Gunfire Reborn, and Tam enjoing High on Life 2. We also talk a bit about recent ARPG releases, with both Grim Dawn and Hell Clock both having new expansions. After that, remaining topics include the mystery game The Incident at Galley House, a long-delayed game completion of Titanfall 2, Palworld's 1.0 release, and concluding with Meccha Chameleon.

This week, we record one of our shortest shows because, quite honestly, we did not have a ton to talk about.  That said, I feel like there were a lot of fun discussions. We start off talking about Forza Horizon 6, as Tam has discovered how fun this series is.  After that, we talk a bit about Voidling Bound, a game that a lot of us were not following but are now interested in. Ace discusses Fields of Mistria and talks about how it is very adjacent to Stardew Valley.  We also briefly talk about how good Spirit Crossing is.  There is this weird new feature in Path of Exile II where a player can sacrifice themselves to give every other player a bonus passive point, and we talk a bit about this design space.  Bel talks a bit about Raven RF, and how it does not quite work well, but is completely viable.  We have a few quick topics, one of which is how good Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope has been.

Topics Discussed:

• Forza Horizon 6

• Voidling Bound

• Fields of Mistria

• Path of Exile II Player Sacrifice

• Raven Righteous Fire

• Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope

Hey Folks. We start off this week with a discussion about Life Below, which is an underwater building sim focused on coral reefs and maintaining them. From there, we talk a bit about another one of our patented 11 sads out of 10 games, where you try to keep the last cat in the universe alive. Spirit Crossing has launched on Steam and we are all pretty happy to see it being untethered from mobile-only.  We talk about all of the things that we saw at the Summer Games Fest, which are too many individual games to list.  We do focus in on one particular game announcement, however, which is Guild Wars 3, and we talk a bit about what we know so far, and more particularly, the fact that the studio released a video committing to keep developing all three games.  Kodra and Bel go deep down the rabbit hole of Path of Exile II build craft, and kind of forget that they are on a podcast for a bit.  Lastly, we wrap things up with some quick topics.

Topics Discussed:

• Life Below

• The Last Cat in the Universe

• Spirit Crossing

• Summer Games Fest 2026

• Guild Wars 3

• Path of Exile II Nonsense

• Quick Topics

Hey Folks! We had quite the list of topics this time around.  We start off with a bit of a postmortem on Zero Parades and how that game really stuck the landing.  From there, Bel talks a bit about the upcoming final patch for Destiny and how it might have saved the game. Tam discusses his feelings so far about 007 First Light and how its Hitman DNA shows through while being a unique game and not a DLC.  Many games were released this week, and we talked about some of them before diving into Mina the Hollower. We talk a bit about Esoteric Ebb, which is another game that shares some lineage with Zero Parades and Disco Elysium.  Finally, we talk a bit about our league starts for Path of Exile II, and how the early game is a real slog. Kodra is having a much better time than Bel is, but they are both progressing towards the endgame.

Topics Discussed:

• Zero Parades Nails It

• Last Gasp of Destiny

• 007 First Light

• Many Games Released

• Mina the Hollower

• Esoteric Ebb

• Path of Exile II - Return of the Ancients

Hey Folks! We had a stacked show last night and had a bit of a rolling start as Thalen joined in a little late.  We start off with Tam talking about re-exploring Xenogears, and then Ace finding their groove in Dead as Disco.  Tam has a kid who is rapidly becoming a Pokémon fiend and, as a result, has been exploring the latest entry, Pokémon Violet.  Ace convinced Bel to ignore his fear of deep water and play some Subnautica 2 Multiplayer. Bel and Kodra discuss their plans for the upcoming Path of Exile II League Start this next Friday, and Tam discusses his enjoyment of Zero Parades.  Finally, we have some pen and paper talk about Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition and Public Access Kickstarter Edition. Lastly, a few rapid-fire topics as we join the Landsraad in Dune Awakening and Destiny 2 enters maintenance mode.

Topics Discussed:

• Xenogears

• Dead as Disco

• Pokemon Violet

• Subnautica 2 Multiplayer

• Path of Exile 2 League Start Plans

• Zero Parades

• Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition

• Public Access Kickstarter Edition

• Dune Awakening Landsraad

• Destiny 2 Ending

Good Morning, Folks! Last night we recorded what I think might be one of our better shows ever, because there were a lot of interesting discussions.  We start off talking about Eurovision and how it felt like it almost ended in a riot.  It's a bit dated, but we talk about some of the details that came out of the Dan Frazier plagiarism situation in Magic: The Gathering. Ace talks a bit about Subnautica 2 and how some of the features caused them to bounce early.  Path of Exile II 0.5.0 reveal happened, and there are tons of things to talk about as they completely redo the endgame.  We talk a bit about the game Everything is Crab, and then follow up with an unrelated topic about how Everything is Roguelike now.  Bel goes down this rabbit hole that starts with Item Repair but follows up with pretty much all of the Anti-Fun Features that are in games and why they need to go. We talk a little bit about some of the Steam Controller reviews that are showing up, and Kodra discusses his further descent into Pokémon ZA.

Topics Discussed:

• Eurovision

• Dan Frazier Situation

• Subnautica 2

• Path of Exile II Spoilers

• Everything is Crab

• Everything is Roguelike

• Item Repair is Bad

• Anti-Fun Features

• Steam Controller Review Units

• Pokemon ZA

Hey Folks! We are down a few folks this night, which leads to a bit of a short show. It is, however, a show filled with some pretty good conversations. We start off with Bel talking a bit about Diablo IV Lord of Hatred expansion and how his opinion of the game has swung a bit from good to frustrated to really good again. An event currently running in Diablo drives us down the familiar classic era World of Warcraft discussion, as we agree that Black Rock Depths was an amazing dungeon. Kodra talks a bit about Pokémon ZA and how there may or may not be a vampire character in it.  We also talk a bit about Heroes of Might and Magic and why III was the best game… and how the new Olden Era is a direct throwback to that time.  We close out with a bit of a discussion where Bel talks about interest in Sorcery: Contested Realm and how he plans to give a report later once he has gotten his decks and played some rounds with friends.  Essentially, it is a throwback to the old school era of Magic: The Gathering from one of the Path of Exile devs.

Topics Discussed:

• Diablo IV Lord of Hatred

• World of Warcraft Nostalgia

• Pokemon ZA

• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era

• Sorcery: Contested Realm

Hey Folks! We have almost too many topics, which is odd because normally this only happens when we skip a week. We start off with a discussion about Paradise Killer, the first game from the folks who created Promise Mascot Agency. From there, we talk a bit about the current round of Hugo Award Nominations since Thalen gets to vote. Ash talks about the existence of Beat Weaver, but is NDA bound and cannot go into much detail. This is essentially a spiritual successor to Frequency and Amplitude from Harmonix. We talk a bit about Vampire Crawlers and its shifting the Vampire Survivors formula to turn-based Might and Magic style combat. Bel has been playing Space Dad Simulator in the form of Pragmata, and it is delightful.  Final Fantasy XIV had its Anaheim Fanfest, and we talked about all of the announcements that came out surrounding the upcoming Evercold expansion. Diablo IV Lord of Hatred launches on Monday and seems to be fixing most of the issues with the game, and Bel is looking forward to playing a SRS Warlock.  We talk a bit about Crunchyroll and the recent anime trends, and then devolve into a bunch of us just suggesting various anime.  Finally, Ace and Bel geek out about Eurovision because it is coming up in a few weeks, and they are pumped.

Topics Discussed:

• Paradise Killer

• Hugo Nominations

• Beat Weaver

• Vampire Crawlers

• Pragmata

• FFXIV Fanfest Anaheim 

• Evercold

• Diablo IV Lord of Hatred 

• Crunchyroll and Anime

• Eurovision is Coming

Hey Folks! I did not realize this until pulling together the post this morning, but apparently, last Monday was the 12th anniversary of our podcast, and last Friday was the 17th anniversary of the Tales of the Aggronaut blog. We have, in fact, been doing this for a while, it seems. Tonight, we start off the show staring into the black hole of equine abominations that is Horsey Game. From there, we talk a bit about the madness that is the challenge mode of Peglin brought by Act 4. After listening to Tamrielo talk about his Mage build in Last Epoch, Belghast was inspired to roll his own Fire Aura build, and we talk a bit about the weaknesses of the Spellblade in general when it comes to survival. Tam shares his initial thoughts on House of Hikmah, a beautiful artistic journey into the Islamic Golden Age. Finally, we talk a bit about the progress Kodra has made with his wolf pack build in Path of Exile, and Bel shares some thoughts about the amazing new overlay tool for the game called Scalpel.

Topics Discussed:

• Horsey Game

• Peglin Act 4

• Last Epoch and Fire Aura

• House of Hikmah

• Path of Exile

• Wolf Pack Build

• Scalpel Overlay

Hey Folks! We were out last week due to various scheduling issues, but led off the show with a bit of a message about Bel going through Chemo and maybe having scheduling issues every other week. From there, we talk a bit about the Artemis II mission and how wild it is to experience "Moon Joy", as we enter a new phase of space exploration.  Ash talks a bit about the Rabbit and Steel update, and Tam talks about the wild experience of playing Screamer.  From there, we talk quite a bit about the Promise Mascot Agency and what a weird gem of a game it is, and how the developer is maybe one to watch going forward.  We talk a bit about Last Epoch and the progress each of us makes, and how Tam was able to lean entirely into his player fantasy…  and at the same time complete more of the game than I think any of us have, as he dropped Uber Aberroth.  Tam also discusses how sometimes it is just best to nuke your emulator devices and start from scratch, and then we wrap things up with a bit of discussion about upcoming changes to Dune Awakening and how they "get it" and are changing the game to reflect the PVE nature of its player base.

Topics Discussed:

• A Very Special Message

• Experiencing Moon Joy

• Rabbit & Steel Update

• Screamer

• Promise Mascot Agency

• Last Epoch

• Tam gets his player fantasy

• Nuking Your Device

• Rebuilding a Ayn Thor

• Dune Awakening Gets It

We start off this week discussing a bit about Project Tahiti, which is a fairly professional emulator server that is helping to keep Marvel Heroes Omega alive.  We've talked a bit in the past about missing this game, but it now functions again and is really easy to get up and running, especially if you ever played it on Steam.  Bel talks a bit about some drama happening in Path of Exile with the account banning of Jenebu, the originator of The Forbidden Trove and what this means for the Mirror Economy.  Last Epoch dropped a new expansion, Shattered Omens, and we talk a bit about playing that and the changes that have gone into the game as a result.  Finally, Ash shares some rapid-fire updates on Coromon, Sunderfolk, and Peglin.

Topics Discussed:

• Marvel Heroes Omega Returns

• Project Tahiti

• The Fall of Jenebu

• Dances with Wolves Build

• Last Epoch Shattered Omens

• Quick Updates

• Coromon

• Sunderfolk

• Peglin

Hey Folks! This week, we start off with a discussion about Dragonkin, a new ARPG that launched this past week, and how it has improved since early access. Last Epoch has a new season dropping this coming week, and we talk a bit about the patch notes and all of the major changes that are coming to various classes and abilities.  The Pokémon cartoon has traditionally had little to do with the actual video game, but we talk a bit about the Pokémon Horizons cartoon and how it is actually teaching valid tactics now. Tam talks about playing through As Long as You're Here, a game about dealing with alzheimers.  Bel talks a bit about his own yolo build centered around The Broken Elegy staff in Path of Exile, and Kodra updates us on the current progress of his side project there.  Finally, we get into a bit of a discussion about what makes a character versus what is just your build, and how it changes your perspectives on a game.

Topics Discussed:

• Dragonkin Launch

• Last Epoch Season 4 Patch Notes

• Pokemon Horizons

• As Long As You're Here

• Path of Exile

• The Broken Elegy

• Yoloing Builds

• A Character versus A Build

Hey Folks! This week we started off with some discussion about ITER-8 a Tower Defense game that has be bit of a different spin.  From there, Tam talks about The August Before and how it is essentially the reverse of Packing.  We reprise our Pokopia topic from last week and talk about how Tam's kid is probably in for a sad revelation as she desperately hunts for the missing humans.  Bel figured out what is missing from Last Epoch, and we talked a bit about the importance of a seasonal journey of some sort in forever games.  Tam realizes that he has solved Star Trek Online and how it is way less fun for him now.  Finally we talk a bit about Path of Exile and specifically Kodra's journey into winging a build by trying to figure out which skills work with Holy Strike.

Topics Discussed

• ITER-8

• The August Before

• Pokopia

• Last Epoch

• Importance of a Seasonal Journey

• Tam Solves Star Trek Online

• Path of Exile

• Kodra winging Holy Strike

Hey Folks! We are down an Ash this week, but we start off talking about the Path of Exile League launch. Bel and Ace have different opinions of the league mechanic than Kodra, so we talk a bit about that.  We also talk about the new holy strike and how it is so much better than glacial hammer.  From there, Ace and Kodra talk about Everything is Crab and convince the rest of us that we should also be playing it.  Kodra discusses the mixed bag that was Emerald City Comic Con, and Tam ventures forth into more Retro gaming with Kolibri.  Kodra discusses Croak and a few other Steamfest demos that he played after last weeks show, and Bel shares some thoughts about how chill the World of Warcraft community seems to be right now.  Finally, a quick topic about Pokopia, which we will likely revisit on another episode.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Mirage League

• Everything is Crab

• Emerald City Comic Con

• Kolibri

• Croak and other Steamfest Demos

• Heroics Actually Chill

• Pokopia 

Hey Folks! We started out down an Ace and a Kodra, but picked up a Kodra as we went.  Ash informs us that Nextfest is happening, and a few of us realized it.  We talk a bit about the various games that have demos right now, or at least will for the first day after this show releases.  From there, Tam shares his thoughts about Under the Island, a charming Zelda-like.  Tam also talks about attempting to get into some of the later retro gaming consoles like the PS2, PS3, Saturn, and Dreamcast on the Ayn Thor.  Bel is spun up because this week he has two big topics to talk about, first starting with the Path of Exile Mirage announcement and the sweeping endgame changes.  From there, he talks about getting sucked back into World of Warcraft and mainlining the new expansion.  Finally, we have a bit of a quick topic as we discuss the Dune Awakening Double Experience and Resources Event that is happening currently.

Topics Discussed:

• Nextfest is Happening

• Under the Island

• Slightly Less Retro Gaming

• Ayn Thor

• Path of Exile Mirage Reveal

• World of Warcraft Midnight Expansion

• Dune Awakening Double Resources Event

Hey Folks! This week, we talk about Dune Awakening and how many updates have been made since we last gave it a spin.  Shortly after last week's episode, Tam fired up the private server again, and we have been enjoying the changes. From there, we talk a bit about Enshrouded and Ace and Bel exploring the Hollow Halls, which is essentially that game's version of a raid dungeon. Ash, Kodra, and Tam talk about trying to shape their runs in Shape of Dreams, and from there, we talk a bit about Towerbolt.  Tam continues to dig deeper into Star Trek Online and begins engaging with proper buildcraft.  Lastly, we have a few quick topics as we discuss the Last Epoch Season 4 trailer and the upcoming Path of Exile Mirage league.

Topics Discussed

• Dune Awakening

• Mea Culpa Patch

• Enshrouded

• Hollow Halls

• Shape of Dreams

• Run Shaping

• Towerbolt

• Star Trek Online

• Buildcraft

• Last Epoch Season 4

• Path of Exile Mirage

Hey Folks! We have the entire crew this week but have a bit of a rolling start without Tam, as he was finishing something up in Star Citizen.  We begin the show with some talk about Relooted a game about recovering antiquities and returning them to their rightful homes.  After that, we discuss Destiny Rising and how it appears to be in maintenance mode lately.  No one had it on their bingo card, but we talked a bit about the drop of the Warlock class in Diablo II Resurrected and how it is also coming to Immortal and Diablo IV.  Tam shares his thoughts about playing Warhammer: The Old World and how it is not exactly the game he thought it was going to be.  We discuss a bunch of rapid-fire topics from the recent Sony State of Play event, and then Kodra dives into Thinky Games and Shape of Dreams.  We discuss the failed state of Highguard and 2XKO and what it means for multiplayer games in general. Finally, a quick blurb that we are all looking forward to Horizon Hunters Gathering, and they should give us all keys to test it.

Topics Discussed:

• Relooted

• Destiny Rising Decline

• Warlock in Diablo II

• Rank and Flank: An Older Era of Minis Games

• Sony State of Play

• Thinky Games

• Shape of Dreams

• Failures of Highguard and 2XKO

• Horizon Hunters Gathering

Hey Folks! We are down a few people this week as we start up our show.  Bel is in the process of trying to reboot "Bel Folks Stuff" and realized that he recorded an episode with Tam that never got released.  We talk about this weird pre-pandemic time capsule.  We discuss building a table for Infinity and how it is a game that wants something more akin to Mordheim.  From there, Ash and Kodra discuss the Rabbit and Steel expansion and unlocking new content. We go down a bit of a continuation of a topic from a month ago as we discuss the games that we did not end up playing, and more specifically, Tam exploring what Ys has to offer. Ashes of Creation was one of the more successful Kickstarter MMORPGs, but that is no more, because the entire project imploded almost overnight.  We talk a bit about that situation and also what goes wrong when trying to build a niche MMORPG for a limited audience.  Finally, Tam shares some of his recent experiences learning to play Star Trek Online and trying to be successful at doing so.

Topics Discussed:

• Bel Folks Stuff Tam Episode

• Building an Infinity Table

• Rabbit and Steel Expansion

• Ys

• Games We Didn't Play

• Ashes of Creation Implosion

• Trying to be good at Star Trek Online

Good Morning Folks! We are down a Tam this week and had some topics that were sitting on our list for a bit.  We start off talking about the official end of Anthem and the Mark Darrah video that effectively provides an autopsy for the game.  Loosely related, we talk about the impending death of New World in January 2027.  This forces us down the path of talking about what the heck even makes an MMO anymore, and how we largely agree that it requires random interaction with other players to count.  We decided that the lobby-based games are PSOLikes since the first game we can remember that was that way was Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast.  From there, we talk a bit about Shape of Dream,s another Roguelike that Ash and Kodra have been playing.  Bel shares his thoughts on Legacy of Phrecia 2.0 in Path of Exile, and Kodra shares his endgame thoughts about Path of Exile II. We wrap the show up talking about the impending patch in Guild Wars 2 that is going to add quickplay for raids and the new Fashion Plates adjacent system.

Topics Discussed:

• Anthem is Offline

• New World will soon Die

• What Makes an MMORPG

• PSOLikes

• Shape of Dreams

• Path of Exile Legacy of Phrecia 2.0

• Path of Exile 2 - Endgame Thoughts

• Guild Wars 2 Fashion Plates

Hey Folks! We are back in full force and continuing our adventure through the second part of the Games of the Year 2025 podcast.  We cut the list in half, giving us fifteen games that we were talking about in each episode.  This is not necessarily a numerical list, but the titles that appear later in the shows did get more votes. It was a great year for gaming, but also a year where we were constantly getting distracted by the next big thing coming down the pipe.  While we played a lot of games… we did not necessarily FINISH a lot of games.

Topics Discussed:

• Fantasy Life - The Girl Who Steals Time

• Chess.Com

• Guild Wars Reforged

• Cauldron

• Ghost of Yotei

• Dune Awakening

• Atelier Resleriana The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian

• Deltarune Chapters 3-4

• Wanderstop

• Where Winds Meet

• Path of Exile Legacy of Phrecia

• Split Fiction

• Hades II

• Blue Prince

• Silksong

Good Morning Folks! We are running things a bit differently this year. Due to unforeseen reasons, Thalen could not join us this week. As such, we paused our games of the year show to record a brief intermission show.  This week, we talked about Star Citizen, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Hytale, OrcaCon, Starfinder, Void Miner, the Amazing World of Retro Handhelds, and Kodra finally enjoying Path of Exile II.  We ran a bit longer than normal and, as such, cut the show a bit more abruptly than usual.  Pretty packed show for being something we pulled together on the spur of the moment, and also bumped a bunch of topics for our show after we wrap the games of the year.

Topics Discussed:

• Star Citizen Engineering

• Pokemon Legends Z-A

• Hytale

• OrcaCon

• Starfinder Thoughts

• Void Miner

• Retro Handhelds

• Path of Exile II and Kodra

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time to roll over into a new season, and time to record our massive two-part games of the year show.  As we roll into Season 13, we have a minor revision to our lineup and two shows stacked with fifteen games each.  As is our tradition, the list was divided into two parts, and the more votes a title got, the later in the show it appeared. It was a great year for gaming, but also a year where we were constantly getting distracted by the next big thing coming down the pipe.  While we played a lot of games… we did not necessarily FINISH a lot of games.

Topics Discussed:

• Slormancer

• Sunderfolk

• Monster Hunter Wilds

• Hell Clock

• Grimshire

• Mercenaries of Trarthus

• Final Fantasy Tactics

• Digimon Story: Time Stranger

• Soulstone Survivors

• Ball x Pit

• Guild Wars 2 Fractal Incursion

• Xenoblade Chronicles X Def. Edition

• Dispatch

• Destiny Rising

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Hey Folks! It is that weird time between holidays, and we are down about half of our folks for various reasons.  We push forward and record a pretty focused show around a few topics.  We start off discussing Q-Up, a game that effectively has a lot of things to say about League of Legends, and also discuss other games like Rabbit and Steel that are themselves commentaries on other games.  From there, Kodra takes Bel to task about Path of Exile II, and mostly how the game seemingly has no interest in making sure you can beat Act 1 with any build and player experimentation.  Thalen has been back in Warframe and attempts to recruit us all to the fold, and honestly…  it is working.  Lastly, we wrap the show with some discussion about the genre that evolved out of MMORPGs…  where the games are far less massive, but still sort of feel like they are a multiplayer experience in spite of only focusing on a handful of players.

Topics Discussed:

• Q-Up

• Path of Exile II Still Uninterested in Experimentation

• Board Games

• Returning to Warframe

• The MMO Successor Genre

Hey Folks! We are down a Tam and a Grace this week but push through with a limited crew.  Bel gets called out by Kodra for being entirely too comfortable with excessive grinds…  this time specifically talking about World Completion in Guild Wars 2.  Kirby Air Riders is a weird game and we talk a bout it.  Bel shares his extended thoughts about Path of Exile II and its current state as well as the Demon Bear being pretty freaking great.  Kodra has been trying to wrap up Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and talks a bit about that.  Ash is doing dumb things in Guild Wars 1 and apparently so is Kodra… so we talk about Guild Wars Reforged again.  Ultimately Sheep Raccoon is the sequel to podcast favorite Ultimate Chicken Horse and we once again recommend it.  Bel talks about the Paladin in Diablo IV and how it is almost as silly as the Last Epoch thorns build.  Kodra talks a bit about Blitz Chess and Thalen is back in Warframe and talks about that.

Topics Discussed:

• Bel's Grind Quotient

• Kirby Air Riders is Weird

• Path of Exile II Bear is Great

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Guild Wars 1 Nonsense

• Ultimate Sheep Raccoon 

• Diablo IV Paladin is Silly

• Kodra and Blitz Chess

• Thalen back in Warframe

Hey Folks! We are down a Thalen this week but continue chipping away at our massive backlog of discussion topics after taking two weeks off due to holiday and illness.  We start off with some talk about Dwarven Realms Season 5 and how it allows you to get all the loot without gating your access.  From there, we talk about Star Citizen and how it has mostly kept all of its promises during the 2025 release schedule.  Most of us have been playing Guild Wars Reforged, and we talk a bit about how much better the game looks and what we are playing.  Grace discusses a Vampire-Survivors-like that has building sim functionality in the very long-named Monsters Are Coming! Rock & Road.  Bel has ventured forth into the realm of FDM printing and talks about various lessons learned.  Lastly, a quick topic as Bel shares that the POE2 bear is really good, but so is the recently shadow-dropped Paladin in Diablo 4.

Topics Discussed:

• Dwarven Realms Season 5

• Star Citizen 2025 Releases

• Guild Wars Reforged

• Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road

• Where Winds Meet

• Bel Loves FDM Printing

• POE2 Bear and D4 Paladin

Hey Folks! Bel was partially dead, and then holiday travel happened, and as a result, we ended up taking a few weeks off without really intending to. We are back and hopefully for more than a few weeks, but given another holiday is looming, who knows. This week we talk about how all of the various ARPGs out there seem to have a contingency of aggro fans, and discuss the reasons why, but also why we are not quite as doomer on them.  Bel talks a bit about the release of the Druid and the Vaal league coming up in Path of Exile II.  Tam discusses a new Chinese MMORPG called Where Winds Meet, which seems to push Gacha elements aside and produce a really wild experience.  From there Grace discusses a Raid Healing Simulator if the form of Wild Growth, and Kodra, an alternate universe Donkey Kong Country in the form of Windswept. We have a revisiting of a topic we have discussed more than once, about why PVPVE fails… this time, how it ruins the otherwise joyful experience of Arc Raiders.  We wrap the show up with some rapid-fire topics about various books and media we have been consuming.

Topics Discussed:

• ARPG Players Angry

• Last Epoch

• Path of Exile

• Diablo IV

• Path of Exile II

• Druid and Vaal League

• Where Winds Meet

• Wild Growth

• Windswept

• PVPVE is Bad Revisited

• Short Topics

Hey Folks! We recorded a massive show where we effectively burned through our entire backlog of topics.  We start off talking about the new character, Maru, in Destiny Rising, and how this seems to be leading us to finally getting off the planet.  Kodra discusses Broom Sweeper, which is effectively the Roguelikeification of Minesweeper.  Bel got sucked into a local pen and paper game for Public Access and talks a bit about the setting.  Ash is doing a "Three Job Fiesta" run of Trials of Mana, and Tam has been playing some ArcRaiders.  We are all pretty pumped for the announcement of new Steam Hardware and what this means for PC gaming.  Kodra and Tam talk about It Takes a War, and Bel revisits his Freezy Boom character in Path of Exile.  We wrap up the show with some rapid-fire discussions about Gunfire Reborn, Winter Burrow, and Ambrosia Sky.

Topics Discussed:

• Destiny Rising

• Pirate Queen Maru

• Broom Sweeper

• Public Access TTRPG

• Trials of Mana

• Three Job Fiesta

• Arc Raiders

• More Steam Hardware

• It Takes A War

• Path of Exile

• Freezy Boom Revisited

• Gunfire Reborn

• Winter Burrow

• Ambrosia Sky

We start off the show with some discussion about Geek Girl Con and how it is a great experience for the entire family.  From there, Ash has played a bit more Daggerheart and discusses how not having initiative in that game actually works out really well.  Kodra is trying a new mine build in Path of Exile 3.2,7 and we talk a bit about how Rolling Magma Mine has been working. Bel has finished most of the endgame prep and discusses the state of his build and how Breach has been working as a league mechanic.  Touhou gets a little less difficult to engage with as Fantasy Maiden Wars attempts to present twenty years worth of assorted games into something more approachable. Tam revisited VTM Bloodlines 2 and thinks that maybe we are misremembering the first game, and how the thing that exists is actually pretty good if you give it enough time.  Lastly, Bel finished Frieren this weekend and talks a bit about it being really good and well worth watching.

Topics Discussed:

• Geek Girl Con 2025

• Daggerheart

• Initiative is Overrated

• Path of Exile 3.27

• Rolling Magma Mines

• Breach So Far

• Fantasy Maiden Wars

• Super Robot Wars With Shrine Maidens

• Touhou

• VTM Bloodlines 2 Revisited

• Frieren is Great

This week, we start off with some discussion around Path of Exile 3.27, the Keepers of the Flame league, and how we are doing breach to make things with the tree tree. From there, we talk a bit about the murder of Amazon Game Studios and how New World is essentially a shambling corpse now…  spooky. After that horror story, we needed something chill, so we talked a bit about Powerwash Simulator and its interesting method for delivering a story.  Grace and Bel finally finish the Destiny Rising raid and talk a bit about how good it is at teaching mechanics in lower-level content.  Dispatch is a wildly good game that is being delivered in an episodic method that feels like you are playing a really good television show.  Guild Wars 2 Visions of Eternity launched and we talk about some of our early thoughts, namely around the builds introduced by the new elite specs.  Finally, we talk a bit about Outer Worlds 2 and how it makes good on the idea of Obsidian's very own Fallout New Vegas that the first game started.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile 3.27

• Keepers of the Flame

• The Tree Tree

• New World in Zombie Mode

• Powerwash Simulator

• Destiny Rising Raid

• Dispatch

• GW2 Visions of Eternity Early Thoughts

• Outer Worlds 2

Good Morning, Folks! This week we had the entire crew and a stacked list of topics, forcing us to bump several to next week.  Tam starts out talking about Time Flies, leading into Grace talking about Ball X Pit.  Bel shares his thoughts about the Path of Exile 3.27 reveal stream, and Ash discusses the Session Zero for the Critical Role Daggerheart system. Tam has been playing Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2…  and how it is very much not a sequel to the first game. Bel talks a bit about the CSGO Gambling Crash, where the illicit market lost some 3 billion dollars of value in a single day. Ash discusses playing Entropy Effect, which is set in the BlazBlue universe, and Bel shares some further bad news about the self-destruction of Xbox, with some new updates and Halo officially being announced for the PlayStation 5. We wrap things up with first impressions of Dispatch and Outer Worlds 2, which we are likely going to be talking about next week.

Topics Discussed:

• Time Flies

• Ball X Pit

• Path of Exile 3.27 Reveal

• Daggerheart Session Zero

• VtM: Bloodlines 2

• CSGO Gambling Crash

• BlazBlue Entropy Effect

• Halo on PS5

• Dispatch First Impressions

• Outer Worlds 2 First Impressions

Hey Folks! This week, Grace and Bel start off the show talking about how good Destiny Rising has been now that they have arrived at the endgame.  They also talk a bit about Helhest, the new banner character. Grace shares her initial thoughts about He is Coming a roguelike that they have been playing. Bel shares some of the early spoilers for Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame, which we are getting a full reveal for on the 23rd and is starting on the 31st.  It seems like we are maybe getting a Breach expansion league, with a bunch of quality of life changes.  From there, we dive into the topic that got bumped from last week about how there are so many good games… that it makes it really hard to play less-than-excellent games anymore. We also talk about how players are seeing through pointless grinds, and how AA games are back with a vengeance, while AAA games are floundering.

Topics Discussed

• Destiny Rising

• Helhest Banner

• Master and Grandmaster Mode Content

• Trikora Happened

• He Is Coming

• Path of Exile 3.27 Spoilers

• Keepers of the Flame

• Breach League

• When There Are Too Many Games

• Players Rebelling Against Grind

• The Rise of AA Games

• The Floundering of AAA Games

• Questionable Business Decisions

Hey Folks! We start off the show with a discussion about how we all dogpiled on Discord and attempted the pre-release version of the MIT Mystery Hunt… and for those completely lost about the show title, one of the clues to one of the puzzles… was just the specific color of the Charlie XCX Brat Album. From there, Bel talks a bit about the Halloween event in Guild Wars 2 and how some folks take the Mad King's Labyrinth way the hell too seriously.  Tam discusses what seems to be a complete rework of how the factions work in Infinity, and Bel discusses the launch of World of Warcraft Legion Remix.  We talk a bit more about Hades II, and more specifically playing the game AFTER beating Cronos.  Finally, Bel talks just a little bit about his early experiences in Blue Protocol, where he is trying to find the fun in the game.

Topics Discussed:

• AggroChat vs Mystery Hunt

• Mad King's Labyrinth in GW2

• Infinity Major Factions Update

• World of Warcraft Legion Remix

• Hades II

• Blue Protocol

We had a pretty meandering show where we thought we ran out of topics… and then suddenly remembered a few more at the very end.  We start with talking about Grace and Bel's adventures in All Ikora PVPVE nonsense with Destiny Rising.  From there, Grace talks about the full release of Slime Rancher 2, and Ammo some adventures in Mathematics with the Final Fantasy Tactics remake.  Xbox seems like it is cooked as they continue their trend of raising the price on everything, this time with Gamepass. Bel talks about revisiting the MySpace 1.0 era with an almost one-for-one clone called SpaceHey. Tam shares some thoughts about why Rise of Ronin did not land for him, but Ghost of Yotei absolutely has.  Bel has popped back into New World and was shocked to find some pretty significant updates to the game.  Then things go off the rails a bit, and we eventually talk about Hades 2 and the Electronic Arts sale to the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Topics Discussed:

• Destiny Rising Only Ikora Edition

• Slime Rancher 2 Release

• Final Fantasy Tactics

• Xbox Price Hikes

• SpaceHey

• Rise of the Ronin

• Ghost of Yotei

• New World Aeternum

• Hades 2

• Electronic Arts Sale

We are down a Grace this week, but carry forward with a handful of topics.  Bel talks about Diablo IV Season 10 after having sat out for a few seasons.  The game is in a pretty good state now.  Bel also goes on a tirade about how much he dislikes the builder/spender architecture in ARPGs and how you usually evolve your build to NEVER hit the builder. Tam, Kodra, and Ash offer their own rebuttals.  From there, we spend most of the show talking about Hades 2, which has been released this week into its full 1.0 version with some significant changes. We wrap the last few minutes of the show talking about a few other roguelikes that released recently, namely Wander Stars and Aethermancer.

Topics Discussed

• Diablo IV In A Good Place

• Builder Spender Feels Bad

• Hades 2 Full Release

• Wander Stars Full Release

• Aethermancer Full Release

Topics Discussed:

• Destiny Rising Second Opinion

• Alabaster Dawn Demo

• Cast N Chill

• Pantheon

• Digimon Time Stranger Demo

• Hades 2 1.0 This Week

• Guild Wars 2 Fractal Incursions

• Tiny Book Shop

• Deeprock Galactic Survivor 1.0

• 100% Silksong

Hey Folks! We start off the show with a discussion about the hidden episode of this season's Game Changers over on Dropout TV.  Bel regales the group with his adventures in the endgame of Destiny Rising and how it really is a better Destiny game than anything we have gotten in years.  Grace instantly sells us on Star Birds just by telling us its from the folks behind Dorfromantik. More than that, it has the art style of Kurzgesagt so you adventure the galaxy with adorable birbs.  There is currently an event going on in Guild Wars 2 where you can run random fractals with complete strangers, and it is delightful and stupidly rewarding. Bel talks a bit about Borderlands 4, and while it is probably the best Borderlands since the second game…  it has some massive performance issues on PC.  Kodra talks about the recent board game A Place for My Books, and most of the crew dives into further discussion about Silksong.

Topics Discussed:

• Samalamadingdong

• Destiny Rising Endgame

• Star Birds

• Random Fractals

• Borderlands 4 Performance Woes

• A Place For My Books

• More Silksong - Trobbio!

Hey Folks! This week, we are down a Grace, and Bel botches the intro… but we keep moving forward. We start off the show with a brief discussion about Silksong effectively breaking every digital game distribution platform when it released this week. Kodra and Tam talk about puzzler Is This Seat Taken, and Bel reprises the discussion about Path of Exile II Third Edict and how it is actually rather good if you are playing a well-balanced class.  From there, Tam talks about Aero GPX and Sword of the Sea and how they give F-Zero and SSX Tricky vibes. Bel talks about playing Destiny Rising and how it is quite possibly a better Destiny game than anything we have gotten in many years.  We discuss Capes, and then dive into the meaty topic of the week and talk about some of our early interactions with Silksong.

Topics Discussed:

• Silksong Breaking All Storefronts

• Is This Seat Taken

• Path of Exile II is Actually Good

• Aero GPX

• Sword of the Sea

• Destiny Rising

• Capes

• Silksong Early Thoughts

Hey Folks! Happy Labor Day holiday weekend for our fellow countryfolk. We start off this show with Thalen making a reference to a dream that Bel had… which forces a recounting of the madness.  From there, we talk about Last Epoch and a completely silly build that Bel is playing, where things explode around him without doing anything.  Grace also talks a bit about their similarly silly single minion build that just melts most things.  Bel talks a bit about YoloMouse and how it solves the problem of not being able to find your cursor on screen.  From there, Tam talks a bit about PEAK, which is a new popular multiplayer frustration adjacent experience. Bel talks a bit about the launch of the Third Edict league in Path of Exile II and how it seems like none of the streamers are actually having fun… and he most definitely was not.  We close out the show with some discussion about some of the recent updates to Star Citizen and how it continues to shape up to actually being a game.

Topics Discussed:

• The Beefists

• Last Epoch

• Fun with Thorns and Aboms

• YoloMouse

• PEAK

• Path of Exile II Third Edict frustrations

• Star Citizen 2025 updates

Hey Folks! This week, we have the entire crew and start off talking about Last Epoch Season 3 with the release of Beneath Ancient Skies.  We talk briefly about the patch reveal for Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict, and while it sounded promising, it is mostly a bunch of nerfs.  From there, we talk a bit about some of the news coming out of Gamescom 2025 and specifically the date reveal for Hollow Knight Silksong.  Ash talks a bit about the Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct and some of the things that came out of that.  Bel talks about his further descent into madness with Miniatures and Warhammer.  Finally, Kodra talks a bit about some more Starfinder Society with Starfinder 2e.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch Season 3 - Beneath Ancient Skies

• Path of Exile 2 0.3 - The Third Edict

• GamesCom 2025

• Hollow Knight Silksong

• Kirby Air Riders Direct

• Bel's Further Delve into Miniatures and Wargaming

• Starfinder Society

Hey Folks! We had a bunch of topics left over from last week that rolled over to this week.  First, we talk a bit about Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, the Shinobi Metroidvania. From there, we talk a bit about Summer Games Done Quick and some of the better runs. Tam talks about his plans to adapt the Starfinder 2 game system to create a Shadowrun Campaign.  Ash shares his initial thoughts about Draw Steel, a new RPG coming down the pipe. We talk a bit about the upcoming Last Epoch Season 3, which drops on August 21s and some of the significant changes.  We also talk a bit about Path of Exile II 0.3.0, which drops shortly after that on the 29th. Lastly, Tam shares some of his thoughts on actually playing quite a bit of Burrows and Badgers, a squad-based leveling miniatures game along the lines of Mordheim. Grace talks briefly about the new Dwarven Realms season that has started, and Bel shares his suggestions for the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone and both Weapons and Barbarian by Zach Cregger.

Topics Discussed:

• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

• Summer GDQ

• Shadowfinder

• Draw Steel RPG

• Last Epoch Season 3

• Path of Exile 2 0.3 Spoilers

• Burrows and Badgers

• Dwarven Realms 

• Craft Sequence

• Weapons and Barbarian

Hey Folks! We are back after a week off, and like always, when that happens, we come back to a large stack of topics.  We start off talking about Hellclock and Grimshire, two great games that Grace has been playing quite a bit of.  From there, we discuss Kodra's adventures in GenCon as he talks about the various LARPs he played in and some exploration of the Starfinder 2 system.  Bel talks about how he has come to understand eSports through Path of Exile and discusses a bit about The Gauntlet event that is wrapping up.  Bel also talks about effectively trying to speed run several decades worth of advancements in wargaming as he juggles trying to figure out what paint range to invest in.  We briefly discuss our non-spoiler thoughts about The Fantastic Four movie, and then a few updates on the books we have been reading.

Topics Discussed:

• Hellclock

• Grimshire

• GenCon

• LARPS

• Starfinder 2

• Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast

• Understanding eSports

• Path of Exile and The Gauntlet

• Speed Running Three Decades of Wargaming

• The Fantastic Four was Good

• Book Updates

Hey Folks! We got the full crew and dived into the topic of what defines a game. Is it still a game if it mostly plays itself? From there, we talk about the recent acquisition of Eleventh Hour Games by Krafton and what it might mean for the future of Last Epoch. We reprise the topic of connecting with players since Kodra was out last week and had thoughts. This deteriorates into a general topic about Guild Wars 2 and chasing rare items.  Tam shares the conclusion to his new computer topic from last week and what he decided to do.  Finally, we talk a bit about how Hades 2 has released the last patch before the official 1.0 launch.

Topics Discussed:

• Is it a game if it plays itself?

• The Sale of Last Epoch

• Kodra on Connecting with Players

• General Guild Wars 2 Discussion

• Pulling the Trigger on a New Computer

• Hades 2 is Coming

Hey Folks! We are down a Kodra this week but assembled a surprisingly long list of topics. First off Bel discusses the return of Commodore and the new product being released. Blaugust is coming up soon, and Bel is not running it this year. Tam shares the tribulations of trying to upgrade a PC right now, and the expense of hardware. Ash is finally back on the Final Fantasy XVI trai,n and it is really good.  Donkey Kong Bananza is pretty great…  but completely unintelligible. BPL or Badger Private League is a thing in Path of Exile and watching people participate is wild.  Guild Wars 2 announced the Visions of Eternity expansion and we talk a bit about the upcoming features.  Finally, Tam dives into a topic about how you get players to actually communicate with each other in games…  and we brainstorm ways to make those interactions happen.

Topics Discussed:

• Commodore is Back

• Blaugust is Coming

• Upgrading a PC Sucks Right Now

• Final Fantasy 16 Is Great

• Donkey Kong Bananza

• BPL in Path of Exile is Wild

• Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity

• Communicating With Other Players

Hey Folks.  We start off with a pretty frank discussion as to why we did not record last week and the death of Belghast's wife of almost thirty years.  From there, we talk about what if Stardew Valley were a Pirates game with Seablip.  Bel shares his thoughts about the overwhelming success of KPOP Demon Hunters.  Kodra has reached the endgame of Minecraft Dungeons and talks about Apocalypse.  The crew has been playing some Sunderfolk and talking about that experience, and Tam shares his initial thoughts about Sky: Children of Light. Grace makes us want to buy the second game of the podcast as they share thoughts about Cauldron.  Tam has been brute-forcing his way through Guild Wars 1 Prophecies, and Bel has attempted to get into Borderlands 3 and still does not think that is a great game.  Finally, Bel shares his first thoughts about the Superman movie and how you should ignore some of the bad press and go see it.

Topics Discussed:

• Death of Bel's Wife

• Seablip

• KPOP Demon Hunters

• Minecraft Dungeons Apocalypse

• Sunderfolk

• Sky: Children of Light

• Cauldron

• Guild Wars 1 Prophecies

• Borderlands 3 is Not Great

• Superman Is Great

Hey Folks! This week, we start off talking about Four Job Fiesta and how Ash's playthrough is going as he takes the donation route to fix his class choices.  Bel talks about the Absolum a new demo up on Steam which mashes together Streets of Rage, Hades, and Darkest Dungeon into a really fun Roguelike Beat Em Up. From there, Kodra talks about his recent foray into Minecraft Dungeons and how it is a really good entry point to the ARPG/Diablo-like genre.  Ash has been revisiting Guild Wars 1 and talks about his progress so far.  Thalen shares his early thoughts about Persona 5 The Phantom X and how it seems to be a non-egregious gacha.  Finally, Kodra and Bel go on at length about the current Path of Exile league.

Topics Discussed:

• Four Job Fiesta Status Report

• Absolum

• Minecraft Dungeons

• Revisiting Guild Wars 1

• Persona 5 The Phantom X

• Path of Exile

The Nintendo Switch 2 has been out for long enough that folks have really gotten some time to play Mario Kart World, and we discuss some of its features.  We also talk a bit about the Donkey Kong Direct and the upcoming game releasing in July. It is the second week of Path of Exile 3.26, and Bel talks about his progress so far and some of the finer details of Mercenaries.  We talk briefly about the news that Marathon has been delayed to an indefinite date in the future, but that Sony is still talking about it like it is a thing.  Ash shares some thoughts about Siralim Ultimate and the upcoming 2.0 patch.  We then devolve into some nonsense about Dune Awakening as we discuss recent happenings on our private server.

Topics Discussed:

• Mario Kart World

• Donkey Kong Direct

• Path of Exile - Mercenaries of Trarthus Week Two

• Marathon Delayed Indefinitely

• Siralim Ultimate and 2.0 Patch

• Dune Awakening Nonsense

Topics Discussed:

• Kodra and Thalen Join Dune

• Dumb Things for Money

• Guild Wars 2 Catch Up

• Microsoft PuzzleHunt

• Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas

• Fun With Mercenaries

• Be My Horde

• Deltarune Purchasable

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace this week, but still end up filling up more than our normal slot full of nonsense.  There is a big sale going on right now for Guild Wars 2, and if you have ever thought about checking it out, now is the time. The Nintendo Switch 2 was released, and we are all pretty happy with it so far, and was at least a MASSIVE upgrade over the OG launch Switch. We talk a bit about the Summer Games Fest… which we only found out this week was not plural… thanks to LRR.  Tam and Bel have been playing the Dune headstart, and it is a wild gaming experience. Tam talks a short bit about TMNT Splintered Fate and Bel gives a heads up that Path of Exile 3.26 is coming next week.

Topics Discussed:

• Big Guild Wars 2 Sale

• Nintendo Switch 2

• Summer Game(s) Fest

• Dune: Awakening

• Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate

• Path of Exile 3.26 Next Week

Hey Folks! We are down a Thalen this week, but that is mostly because he was up visiting Bel Town, so Bel talks a bit about that.  Kodra discusses how playing a lot of Blue Prince has ruined his brain for every other game… especially Cyberpunk 2077. It is Path of Exile 3.26 Spoiler Season, and Bel talks about some of the quality of life changes coming.  Tam shares his experiences with Skin Deep and why it may not be the "sandbox stealth" game that it is purported to be. Kodra and Tam talk about their experiences playing Lorelei and the Laser Eyes "Co-Op" without official support for that. The early looter shooter Defiance makes a return, and Bel talks about that, and then Tam shares the realization that given enough time, you massively improve almost anything that you try… in his case, painting miniatures.

Topics Discussed:

• Blue Prince Rewires Brain

• Path of Exile 3.26 Spoiler Season

• Skin Deep

• Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3

• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes "Co-Op"

• Defiance Returns

• Painting Realization

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace this week and start off with what seems like a reasonable list of topics…  that we immediately have to bump half of because the night ran long. Thalen starts off with a bit of a rebuttal to our Eurovision topic as he shares his thoughts about Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente. From there, we talk about the death of Marathon and potentially Bungie as things keep getting worse for that game and its studio. Speaking of angry crowds…  we also talk a bit about the self-own of Star Citizen's recent round of pay-to-win allegations. Steam OS is officially available for devices that are not the Steam Deck, and we share our thoughts about an eventual future where we are running this on desktops. Somewhere in the midst of the show, we have this entire unintended conversation about how making PVP work for non-PVPers would mean needing to make losing feel enjoyable. Finally, Tam shares his thoughts about what he has played of Dune Awakening so far, and it is probably enough to rope several of us into trying the game on release.

Topics Discussed

• Space Opera

• The Marathon Debacle

• The Potential Death of Bungie

• Star Citizen Self-Own

• Steam OS Broad Release

• PVP for Non-PVPers

• Dune: Awakening 

Hey Folks! We are down a few folks, but we had a lot to talk about.  Bel and Grace have been watching Eurovision for several years at this point… and talk about some nonsense that went on during the Saturday show that was amazing. From there, Ash shares his broadening love of Taiko Drum games and tries to figure out a way to play them at home. Bel talks a bit about recent Last Epoch updates that have added quite a bit of quality of life to the game. Enshrouded got the Thralls of Twilight update that has massively improved some of the game visuals as well as added quite a bit more gameplay.  Dwarven Realms is going through Chaos Week right now, and Grace has been playing the brand new Necromancer. Several of us have spent time playing Slormancer, and it is a phenomenal and easy to get into ARPG with a pretty delightful art style.  Right now, Steam is doing Creature Collector Fest, and Ash talks about trying out several demos. Finally, Bel has returned to Guild Wars 2 and dragged Ammo along for the nonsense.  He talks about finishing up his fifth Legendary Weapon and setting his sights on the way more daunting Vision Legendary journey.

Topics Discussed:

• Real Winner of Eurovision

• Taiko Drum Games

• Last Epoch Quality of Life Patches

• Enshrouded - Thralls of Twilight 

• Dwarven Realms Necromancer

• Slormancer

• Creature Collection Demos

• Voiding Bound

• Synth Beasts

• Yaoling Mythical Journey

• Aethermancer

• Guild Wars 2

• Fifth Legendary What Now?

Hey Folks! Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there who might be listening to our show. We are down an Ash and a Grace and have an under-the-weather Kodra, but push on.  We start off with Bel asking the question: What is the bare minimum required for something to be called a crossover in a game? Kodra shares his thoughts about his playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 and how it gives the impression of time pressure, but that there really is not any.  This branches off into a whole discussion about imaginary time pressure and actual hard clocks in games.  Weirdly, this also then branches off into a discussion about how "sexytime" is handled in games. In a more pure gaming experience, Tam shares his thoughts about the wildly successful Burrows and Badgets.  Bel talks about rolling a Gauntlet character in the Sir Gog led Path of Exile league and hitting a hard stop in Act 8.  Finally, we talk a bit about Dune Awakening and then attempt to explain the Dune universe to Kodra.

Topics Discussed:

• What Constitutes a Crossover in a Video Game?

• Diablo IV x Berserk Collaboration

• Cyberpunk 2077 and the implication of time pressure.

• Actual Time Pressure vs Imagined

• Sexytime in Gaming

• Burrows and Badgers

• Sir Gog's Soft Gauntlet in Path of Exile

• Dune: Awakening Beta Hopes

• Explaining Dune to Kodra

Hey Folks! We start off with almost no topics on the docket and then fill up a full show as we are rolling.  Bel saw Thunderbolts and shares that it might be the best Marvel movie he has seen since Guardians 3.  From there, Tam dives into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an aggressively French take on the JRPG genre that is insanely good. Grace shares their experiences with Conquest Dark, a new Vampire-Survivors-like that they have been playing. Bel gets sucked back into Path of Exile for Pohx League 2.0 where every map has two random additional bosses.  Tam shares some early thoughts about South of Midnight, and Ash shares their recent experiences with Samurai Bringer and Metal Bringer.  Kodra discusses some of the recent Chess drama, as Dr Lupo very clearly cheated in the recent PogChamps Tournament. Finally, Tam discusses his recent return to Infinity in edition 5.

Topics Discussed:

• Thunderbolts Movie Great

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Conquest Dark

• Path of Exile

• Pohx League 2.0

• Atlas Invasion

• South of Midnight

• Samurai Bringer

• Metal Bringer

• Chess Drama

• Infinity: N5

Good Morning Folks! We are down a Tam this week and went into this with no topics on the docket…  and still managed to pull together a full-length episode.  We talk a bit about our experiences attempting to preorder the Nintendo Switch 2, and what a massive cluster that was. From there, we talk a bit about the worst-kept gaming secret, the Oblivion remaster, and how magical this product is.  Magic: The Gathering has seemingly lost its mind, and we talk a bit about the Omenpaths thing and how poorly ideated it is.  Finally, Last Epoch is still a heck of a lot of fun, and we talk about some of the experiences, especially around playing with other folks.

Topics Discussed:

• Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Order Mayhem

• Oblivion Remaster

• Magic the Omenpaths Nonsense

• Last Epoch is Still Great

Hey Folks! Happy Easter to all of our listeners, since this happens to be dropping on the actual holiday. We talk a bit this week about how we recorded last week on the eleventh anniversary of this show…  without realizing it until far too late to discuss.  We start off the show talking about the second season of Last Epoch and the Tombs of the Erased expansion.  This expansion is largely focused on the endgame, and for the last year, they have apparently been cooking because it is amazing.  After that, Thalen discusses his playthrough of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and how it reminds him of 7th Guest…  but reasonable.  We wrap up the show with some more discussion of Blue Prince, and that apparently no one has seemingly solved the game yet in the broader community.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch Tombs of the Erased

• This Season is amazing

• Endgame Changes

• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

• Blue Prince is Still Unsolved

Hey Folks! We were out last week but, as such, came back with a stacked list of topics to discuss.  We start off talking about Path of Exile II and the bad launch patch for Dawn of the Hunt.  We also talk about the interview between Zizaran and the Devs and the resulting updates.  We then dive into some discussion about an amazing-looking season for Tombs of the Erased in Last Epoch coming next week and all of the new features.  Kodra and Tam share their experiences with Blue Prince, which is a puzzle exploration game that highly suggests you keep track of some real-world notes.  Bel discusses his thoughts on the Minecraft Movie and how it splits the line between brilliance and trash and ends up providing a pretty great time. Ash has restarted Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX, and Thalen talks about the Hugo Award Nominations.  Sudokucon has happened, and Kodra shares how the event went.  We also have a brief revisiting of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which Ammo and Ash are still playing through.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile II League Issues

• Last Epoch Tombs of the Erased

• Blue Prince

• Minecraft Movie

• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX

• Hugo Award Nominations

• Sudokucon

• Xenoblade Chronicles X

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace this week, but push on with several topics.  This week, Path of Exile II revealed the Dawn of the Hunt league, and we talked a bit about how it did not really resolve some of the problems we had with the game.  Bel also talks a bit about pushing up his third level 100 in the Legacy of Phrecia Event.  We then discuss the very last Switch based Nintendo Direct because next week we are getting one announcing the Switch 2.  Bel shares his experience playing the aggressively British fallout-like called Atomfall, Tam shares his initial thoughts about Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Kodra shares his struggles with more competitive Chess.  Finally, we have a bit of a revisit of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile II - Dawn of the Hunt Reveal

• Bel Gets Third level 100 in Legacy of Phrecia Event

• Last Switch Nintendo Direct

• Atomfall

• Assassin's Creed Shadows

• Kodra's Chess Struggles

• Xenoblade Chronicles X

Hey Folks! We were out last week because Bel's world was burning and all of the smoke was killing his lungs. This week we start off with a discussion about the Eleventh Hour Games and Grinding Gear Games situation as GGG pulls a Blizzard and ambushes the Last Epoch Season 2 launch.  From there we talk about the chill tea shop gameplay of Wanderstop, telling us that sometimes it is a good idea to stop and relax for a bit.  Tam and Kodra played through Wanderstop and talked about how it has evolved the already great co-op gameplay of It Takes Two with a much better story.  Ash and Ammo talk about diving into Xenoblade Chronicles X as it just was re-released on Nintendo Switch.  Bel talks a bit about Gunlocked which attempts to be the Vampire Survivors of Bullethell Shooters…  and fails in interesting ways that will hopefully be addressed in the sequel.  Bel also shares his initial thoughts from the Titans Quest II playtest, and Tam shares his thoughts about what he is seeing about Dune Awakening.

Topics Discussed:

• The EHG/GGG Situation

• The ambush scheduling of Path of Exile II

• The reschedule of Last Epoch Season 2

• Wanderstop

• Split Fiction

• Xenoblade Chronicles X

• Gunlocked / Boons and Burdens

• Titan Quest II

• Dune Awakening

Hey Folks! We are down an Ash this week and start the show down a Kodra who slips in while we record.  This week we talk about the press tour for Last Epoch Season 2 and some of the new information that came out on a podcast with Raxxanterax and Zizaran.  From there we talk about the fatal wound that is the upcoming Season 8 in Diablo IV because Season 7 was apparently too fun and Blizzard cannot stomach that.  Tam shares his experiences with Megamek an archaic way of playing Battletech Tabletop online.  From there we dive into our further experiences with Monster Hunter Wilds as Bel has finished all of the story content and the majority of folks have hit the credit roll that transitions to High Rank play.  Kodra shares some thoughts about Finspan and also engaging with Chess.com as a way to learn better chess play.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch is Cooking

• More Season 2 Reveals

• Diablo IV Enshitification

• Incoming Bad Season

• Megamek

• Oldest School Battletech

• Monster Hunter Wilds

• Finspan

• Chess.com

Hey Folks! We are down our West Coast contingent this week but carried forth with a relatively short show.  Bel talks a bit about the Anti Sanctum Alliance and how it seems to have actually made an impact at least in the pricing of Sanctum Tomes in the Legacy of Phrecia event. From there Thalen shares his experiences with The Roottrees Are Dead, which is a logic puzzle spiritual successor to games like Return of the Obra Dinn.  We move on to talking a bit about Monster Hunter Wilds and our early experiences so far.  We've needed some Palico shenanigans to help us cope with our present dystopia. Last week we got a new feature trailer for the upcoming Last Epoch Cycle 2 coming April 2nd.  We spend a bit of time talking about what has been revealed for the new features and how it appears like the long wait has been worth it.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Legacy of Phrecia

• Impact of the Anti-Sanctum Alliance

• The Roottrees Are Dead

• Monster Hunter Wilds

• Last Epoch Cycle 2 Trailer

Hey Folks! We have the entire crew this week.  We start off the show with Bel explaining to Kodra the weird faction war currently happening in the Path of Exile Reddit. Bel also talks about his experiences so far with the Legacy of Phrecia event. From there we talk a bit more about Avowed now that Tam has had a chance to play it. Kodra shares his experiences with Civilization VII talking about how wildly different of a Civ game it is.  From there he also talks a bit about Pigment and his ambitions to speedrun it.  Ash shares his thoughts about Dynasty Warriors Origins and Tam discusses a Steam recommendation find, Deliver At All Costs.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Reddit Faction Wars

• Legacy of Phrecia

• Avowed

• Civilization VII

• Pigment

• Dynasty Warriors Origins

• Deliver At All Costs

Hey Folks! This week we are down a Grace and Kodra but get back an Ammo.  We start off with a topic that got bumped from last week about how much of a difference music makes in games.  Specifically, we talk a bit about Star Citizen getting music but also talk about how important good audio queues are.  From there Bel shares his early experiences with Avowed a game by Obsidian that is very much Elder Scrolls if you removed the awkward simulationist tendencies.  Ash and Bel talk a bit about the upcoming Legacy of Phrecia event in Path of Exile now that all Nineteen Ascendancies have been fully spoiled.  We also talked a bit about the upcoming release of Monster Hunter Wilds and Ammo offering custom Palico commissions.  Ash touches on Soulstone Survivors a bit and then we close out the show with a discussion about the Dungeon Crawler Carl series of books and why Bel and Thalen love them so much.

Topics Discussed:

• Music Makes a Difference

• Star Citizen: Fight for Pyro

• Audio Queues in Games

• Avowed

• Path of Exile Legacy of Phrecia Event

• All 19 Ascendancies Now Revealed

• Monster Hunter Wilds

• Soulstone Survivors

• Dungeon Crawler Carl

Hey Folks! This week we are down an Ammo which throws Ash off a bit.  We start off with a discussion about the changes to the death system and multiplayer in Windblown.  From there we talk about the most recent updates to Utopia Must Fall.  Citizen Sleeper 2 has been released and Tam shares some of his early thoughts.  Dwarven Realms Season 3 is going on and the game continues to get more polished over time. Bel and Grace talk about the Lunar Awakening event and how it represents this perfect example of why Blizzard's Design Ethos makes the game less fun.  Path of Exile has an upcoming Phrecia event with 19 new Ascendancies and we talk about the four that have been spoiled so far.  Grace talks about Spirit Swap which is Lo-Fi Beats to Match Three To.  Kodra has had a bit of a revival of Ultimate Chicken Horse in his house as his son gets super into it.  Grace shares her early experiences with Deep Rock Galactic Survivor and we bid farewell to Kodra's cat Willow.

Topics Discussed:

• Windblown Death System Updates

• Utopia Must Fall Update

• Citizen Sleeper 2

• Dwarven Realms Season 3

• Diablo IV Lunar Awakening Event

• Blizzard Design Ethos Issues

• Path of Exile 3.25.5 Phrecia Event Spoilers

• Spirit Swap

• Ultimate Chicken Horse

• Deep Rock Galactic Survivor

• Goodbye Willow

Hey Folks! This week we started with a single topic…  and by the time we were finished ended up having to bump half of the assembled topics to next week in order to keep the runtime down.  We start off with Bel talking about the bad news for Path of Exile players, and how there is no new league around the corner.  He also talks a bit about getting sucked into the private league that Pohx created which has capped out at 20,000 players.  From there Grace talks a bit about playing Heroes of Hammerwatch II and enjoying that.  Kodra shares his thoughts about the Diablo IV Campaign thus far as he still is effectively in the first act. Grace and Ash share their experiences with Coridden a more narrative-driven action roleplaying game.  Finally, Kodra and Tam talk about their experiences playing Battletech and how Kodra is coming around to the idea of playing games for fun, rather than simply optimizing the strategy for winning.

Topics Discussed

• Path of Exile League Months Away

• Pohx League

• Heroes of Hammerwatch II

• Kodra's Diablo 4 Thoughts

• Coridden

• Battletech - A Game of Awesome Moments

Hey Folks! We are down a Tam this week but start off the show talking a bit about our various mental states with the happenings going on out in the world.  From there Grace talks about Rusty's Retirement a delightful idle game that has a lot of the same functionality as Stardew Valley but runs in a small window at the bottom of your monitor.  From there we talk about Diablo IV Season 7 and how it is quite possibly the best D4 season ever…  that no one is really giving much fanfare.  We talk a bit about how the streamers have seemingly abandoned the game.  Kodra shares with us the process of resolving combat in the Battletech tabletop game from the 80s…  giving Thalen and Bel flashbacks in a bad way.  Finally, Ash has been playing Sonic Frontiers and talks about it actually being a really good open-world Sonic game.

Topics Discussed

• Screaming Goats

• Rusty's Retirement

• Diablo IV Season 7

• Season of Witchcraft

• Battletech is obtuse

• Resolving Combat

• Sonic Frontiers

• Actually Good

Hey Folks! Welcome to our actual first show of the year since we did Games of the Year shows for the last two weeks.  We start off with being shocked that the Nintendo Switch 2 leaks and rumors were actually real.  From there we talk about the Path of Exile II Patch 0.1.1 information, Elon Musk's being panned by the community and his subsequent Meltdown, and the frustrations of playing multiplayer.  We also weave in a bit of discussion about Last Epoch as several of us are playing that again.  Tam and Kodra spent some time playing Elden Ring using the Multiplayer mod.  Tam also talks a bit about 1000xRESIST, and Ash shares some of his recent experiences playing Grim Dawn and preparing for the expansion this year.

Topics Discussed:

• Nintendo Switch 2 Announcement

• Path of Exile II

• Patch 0.1.1 Info

• Elon's Meltdown

• Multiplayer Frustrations

• Last Epoch

• Elden Ring Multiplayer Mod

• 1000xRESIST

• Grim Dawn

• Upcoming Expansion

Hey Folks! We have a bit of a long show because we wound up cramming a few games that we missed in the first show into this list.  We round out our yearly tradition with the second part of our Games of the Year show.  I am once again so glad that we decided a few years ago to start doing these on multiple nights because this year would have been a four-hour-long epic marathon of recording.

Games Discussed:

• Space Marine 2

• Path of Exile II

• Metaphor Refantazio

• Kunitsu-Gami

• Games Finally Leaving Early Access

• Caves of Qud

• Middara

• Gundam Breaker 4

• Dwarven Realms

• Nova Drift

• UFO 50

• Warhammer 40k Franchise

• Tactical Breach Wizards

• Path of Exile Settlers of Kalguur League

• Enshrouded

• Warcraft Pandaria Remix

• Rabbit And Steel

• Helldivers 2

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

• Last Epoch

Hey Folks! It is that time again when we pull together our list of favorite games from 2024.  In theory, we each get three primary choices and an almost unlimited number of honorable mentions… which causes us to divide the show into two packed episodes.  In this case, we have 36 games on the list divided into two shows of roughly 18 games.

Games Discussed:

• Unicorn Overlord

• Pesticides Not Required

• Minishoot Adventures

• Little Kitty Big City

• PC Releases

• Horizon Forbidden West

• Final Fantasy XVI

• Ghost of Tsushima

• Secrets of Grindea

• Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred

• Beatmania IIDX Infinitas

• Zenless Zone Zero

• Visions of Mana

• Star Wars Outlaws

• Rogue Trader

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

• Zelda Echoes of Wisdom

• Peglin

• Guild Wars 2 Janthir Wilds

• FFXIV Dawntrail

• Dragon Age Veilguard

Hey Folks! We are back this week and only actually down one person which seems great for the holiday season.  This week we start off talking about Toad's Item Factory which is a multiperson minigame in Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kodra talks about his experiences playing it with his kiddo.  From there Tam shares his experiences with Nine Sols, which is in theory a game he should like but is not quite there. Several of us have made it to the Path of Exile II Endgame and as such we discuss some of the issues with it, the most glaring being the whole One Portal Problem.  Kodra has started playing Warhammer 40,000 Martyr which is honestly prompting Bel to reinstall and check it out again.  Finally, Tam talks a bit about the major changes that have gone into Star Citizen with the opening of a whole other star system with the Pyro update.

Topics Discussed:

• Super Mario Party Jamboree

• Toad's Item Factory

• Nine Sols

• Path of Exile II Endgame

• Our Issues

• Warhammer 40k Martyr

• Star Citizen 4.0: Pyro

This week we start off with some discussion of the Video Game Trailer show…  which really should just call itself that because the "Awards" thing feels like an afterthought at this point.  Bel is excited for Witcher 4 and Dispatch, and Ash's favorite game of all time is finally getting a Sequel.  We also are curious what sort of game Intergalactic is going to end up being and sure hope it is not a soulslike. From there Bel talks about softening his thoughts about Path of Exile II as he is probably a day out of getting to maps.  Kodra and Tam however have become significantly less charitable than last week. We also talk a bit about Caves of Qud which has actually launched now.  Then Ammo and Tam share their glowing praise of the new Indiana Jones game from Machine Games.  While it technically is a stealth game, it is also a fascist punching simulator with quirky oneliners which is also great.

Topics Discussed:

• The Game Awards 2024

• Lots of Trailers, Few Awards

• The Death of ESports

• Path of Exile II - One Week In

• Caves of Qud

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Hey Folks! This week we end up mostly talking about the early access launch for Path of Exile II.  This truly was a feat of cloud engineering as the Grinding Gear Games team delayed for a few hours to prepare for the onslaught of over a million players…  then the game just worked pretty much flawlessly until some minor issues on Saturday.  It is hard to explain how big of a feat this is, especially considering the struggles that Last Epoch had with unexpected success, for a game that has never had more than 300k peak concurrency to scale up this fast is massive. When it comes to the actual game… Bel is not having a great time as Warrior, but everyone else seems to be greatly enjoying themselves. We talk about the good bits, and the bad bits.  From there Bel talks a bit about the OnlyFangs Hardcore WoW Event, and then Ash and Kodra share their experiences with Atlyss.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile II Early Access Launch

• Feat of Cloud Engineering

• Everyone Loves it But Bel

• OnlyFangs Hardcore World of Warcraft Event

• Atlyss

Hey Folks! We had a show where we were not certain we were going to record… and then suddenly essentially had everyone but Ashgar.  Bel has been revisiting Starfield and talks about what a weirdly offputting game it is.  From there Bel and Grace talk about their experiences with Dungeon Clawler which is essentially Peglin but with a Claw machine instead of Pachinko.  Kodra has ventured forth into Veilguard and finds the pacing and structure a bit odd, so we talk about that and how it contrasts from the only Dragon Age game he has ever played, Origins. Tam talks about all of the stuff that has been going on this year in Star Citizen and how the free-fly event is less spectacular than previous outings.  Tam also shares his experiences with Stars Reach Alpha and how he is not entirely certain what that game is trying to be.

Topics Discussed:

• Starfield is Offputting

• Dungeon Clawler

• Veilguard Structure

• Star Citizen's 2024

• Stars Reach Alpha

Hey Folks! This is ACTUALLY episode 501 and we have the entire crew.  We start off talking about the Settle folks surviving what was effectively a category one hurricane and living without power for around 48 hours.  From there Bel talks about finishing Dragon Age Veilguard and how the game has learned lessons from the Mass Effect 3 ending.Grace talks about their experiences with Enshrouded and starting the game from scratch.  Thalen talks a bit about I am the Future and Ash shares his revisiting of N++ playing it co-op with friends.  Lastly, we dive into the Path of Exile II Reveal Stream and all of the announcements surrounding the upcoming release of POE2 Early Access.

Topics Discussed:

• Surviving Seattle's Collapse

• Dragon Age Veilguard Stuck the Landing

• Enshrouded Updates

• I Am Future

• N++ Co-Op

• Path of Exile II Full Reveal Stream

Hey Folks! This week we talk about Episode 500 and the ramifications of recording that many shows.  From there Ash talks a bit about Unnamed Sound Voltex Clone and Beatmania SImulator on his further descent into rhythm gaming.  From there we talk a bit about Beastieball's early access as it steps ever closer to the full release.  Dragonquest 3 HD-2D is out and we talk a bit about the changes to the game.  A bunch of us got more keys to hand out for Soulframe and as a result way more folks have had a chance to play it.  So we talk some more about how weird of a game it really is.  Lastly, Tam shares with us that there is in fact a happy ending to the Rogue Trader CRPG…  just not in the way you might think.

Topics Discussed:

• Episode 500

• Unnamed Sound Voltex Clone

• Beatmania Simulator

• Beastieball Early Access

• Dragonquest 3 HD-2D

• Soulframe is Wierd

• Rogue Trader Happy Ending

Hey Folks! We are all reeling a bit from the past week, but we start off things with the joyful return of Ammo from her trip to Japan.  She spends a bit of time talking about all the arcade hopping and wonderful food that she found along the way. From there we dive into the furious growth of Pokemon TCG Pocket and how it has swept through our friend group.  Ash talks about his experiences with Monster Hunter Wilds Beta and Bel shares his own comfort gaming in the form of the weird Path of Exile Necro Settlers Event League.  Bel also talks a bit about playing the Brighter Shores Early Access, and how it has some core design problems that will keep him from playing for very long.  Kodra talks a bit about GeekGirlCon where we realize…  that he has in fact been talking about it every year since the very first year in 2016.  Our podcast…  is old.  He also talks a bit about his role in the upcoming SudokuCon Stream and some of the nonsense he is going to be doing combining two of his loves: Sudoku, and Celeste.

Topics Discussed:

• Ammo Returns from Japan

• Pokemon TCG Pocket

• Monster Hunter Wilds Beta

• Path of Exile

• POE2 Delay

• Necro Settlers League

• Brighter Shores Early Access

• GeekGirlCon 2024

• SudokuCon Upcoming Stream

Hey Folks! We are back after a week off last week due to too many being out. When we do one of those weeks missed we have a truly stupid number of topics to discuss, and this week is no exception.  We start off talking a little bit about Xenoblade Chronicles X getting a Switch release date, and Utopia Must Fall the game that you get when you make Missile Command a Roguelike.  Related we also talk a bit about Nodebuster which is going for a somewhat similar thing.  Bel and Grace talk about their experiences with Wayfinder, a game that completely changed its business model from freemium cash grab to buy the box. Tam talks about an interesting situation of being in a deeply collaborative "competition" and how cool those moments are. Ash shares his thoughts about Windblown the new co-op ARPG from the folks behind Dead Cells.  Tam shares his thoughts about I Am Your Beast and Kodra in a bit more detail about Tactical Breach Wizards.  Bel talks about his recent adventures in Return of Reckoning, a fan-run Warhammer Online server that itself has been up and running for a decade now after the official game closed down in 2013.

Topics Discussed:

• Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch Announcement

• Utopia Must Fall

• Nodebuster

• Wayfinder

• Competitions that Aren't

• Windblown

• I Am Your Beast

• Tactical Breach Wizards

• Warhammer Return of Reckoning

Hey Folks! This week we start off with Ash's early thoughts about Metaphor: ReFantazio.  From there Grace and Bel decide to share some of the great things going on in Diablo IV after last week's story bashfest. Kodra is Cursed and cannot upgrade hardware without it for some reason going completely off the rails.  From there he talks about Mechwarrior 5: Clans where we are in fact the baddies.  Tam shares his thoughts on Kingdom Eighties where kids on bikes try and save their hometown.  Kodra has hit the credit roll for Zelda Echoes of Wisdom and shares some of his final thoughts.  Tam talks about playing through Adios a game so good that he dealt with it not having an inverted control scheme.

Topics Discussed:

• Metaphor: ReFantazio

• Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Endgame

• Kodra is Cursed

• MechWarrior 5: Clans

• Kingdom Eighties

• Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom Credit Roll

• Adios

Good Morning Folks! This week we had one topic dangling from the previous week so we started out with some discussion about Ravenswatch and their interesting take on the action roguelike genre.  From there Bel and Grace share their thoughts about Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred and how Blizzard largely missed the mark with the story, but that the game is in a pretty good mechanical state otherwise.  From there Tam shares his experiences with the new Rogue Trader CRPG DLC Void Shadows.  Then we wrap things up by talking about UFO 50 a game about a video console from an alternate reality…  and how interesting some of the takes on 8-bit gaming are.  We also talked a bit about the creativity of that era and how it had not really returned until the Indie explosion enabled by Steam.

Topics Discussed:

• Ravenswatch

• Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Expansion

• What they did wrong

• What they got right

• Rogue Trade Void Shadows DLC

• UFO 50

• Misremembering Games from the 80s

Hey Folks! We start the show with a quick discussion about Path of Exile, and how we are now two months into a League, a position where things would normally be dead…  and that the Currency Exchange is still hopping.  This leads to a secondary discussion about Kodra's woes as he attempts to do the Merchant Guild thing in the Last Epoch.  From there Bel talks about Witchfire with its Hexen meets Destiny meets Hades PVE extraction shooter gameplay. Bel also got an invite to Soulframe Preludes the next game from Warframe maker Digital Extremes and shares some of his early impressions.  From there we dive into the Magic the Gathering Commander situation with controversial card bannings, death threats, and Wizards of the Coast yoinking control of the format away from the players.  Tam shares his thoughts about playing Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast and Thalen his early thoughts about playing Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Currency Exchange in a Dead League

• Last Epoch

• Woes of Merchants Guild

• Witchfire

• Soulframe Preludes

• The MTG Commander Situation

• Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast

• Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Hey Folks! This week we continue to chip away at the massive list of topics from our time off.  We start off the show with an adorable Frog version of Vampire Survivors meets Stardew Valley called Pesticide Not Required.  From there we talk a bit about Pokemon Go and what it is like playing it with your kids.  Ash continues his dive into rhythm games via the Round1 Arcade, this time with Beatmania.  Space Marine 2 has been released and a bunch of the folks on the podcast have been playing Multiplayer Co-Op and have some thoughts.  Kodra has been playing Tactical Breach Wizards and shares his thoughts about it, and we have some very early preliminary thoughts about the brand-new Zelda game Echoes of Wisdom.  Finally, Bel talks a bit about returning to Minecraft during his recent convalescence and how that game feels like chicken soup in gaming form.

Topics Discussed:

• Pesticide Not Required

• Vampire Survivors meets Cute Frog Farming Game

• Pokemon Go With Kids

• More Rhythm Games

• Beatmania

• Round1 Is Great

• Space Marine 2

• Tactical Breach Wizards

• Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

• Bel Returns to Minecraft

• Sick Time Comfort Gaming

Hey Folks! Apologies for taking a few weeks off but Covid kicked Belghast's butt and he is the person who records, edits, and posts the show.  This week we had a mountain of topics to get through and got nowhere close to hitting them all. Last Epoch has their very poorly named cycle reset going on, in which they added some pretty freaking cool new features like Loot Lizards, Stash Priority system, and the Imperial Undead event.  We talk a lot about the game and then dive into a whole discussion on seasonal models and what works and does not work for them.  We also tangent off into a discussion about the Clue movie from the 80s for some reason…  so look forward to that.  From there we talk a bit about Dwarven Realms as it gets closer to the full release of the game. Ash, Kodra, and Tam talk a bit about their experiences playing the ISS Vanguard living world physical board game.  Thalen kicks off a discussion about Astro Bot and how it is essentially the mascot game Sony has always needed.  Ash shares his experiences with Gundam Breaker 4 and Tam a bit about playing Hades 2 as a research project. Packed show with roughly half of the topics getting bumped to next week.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch Cycle Reset

• Loot Lizards

• Stash Tab Priority System

• Imperial Undead Event

• Dwarven Realms

• ISS Vanguard

• VHS Board Games

• 1980s Clue Movie

• Astro Bot

• Gundam Breaker 4

• Hades 2 Early Access

Hey Folks!  We are down a handful of folks but continue pushing forward.  We start off with talking about a world where Arcades did not die out…  aka Japan and what the 2020 Covid crisis did to them.  This leads to a discussion about playing DDR and similar rhythm games at home.  From there Bel talks about the upcoming update to Last Epoch where they are doing a mid cycle reset and some of the reasons why this is happening.  Ammo talks about her experiences returning to Guild Wars 2 and Bel shares his frustrations about how obtuse the achievement system is when it comes to trying to find the major unlocks and legendary crafts.  Bel also questions whether or not Twitch Drops work, to which Kodra refutes with his personal experience.  Lastly, we talk a bit about Visions of Mana the fifth official game in the Mana Series.

Topics Discussed:

• 2020 and Japanese Arcades

• Playing DDR At Home

• Guild Wars 2

• Ammo's return to the game

• Obtuse System Unlocks

• Do Twitch Drops Work?

• Visions of Mana

Hey Folks!  We actually finally get around to having the Age of Sigmar discussion, and more specifically talk at length about Warhammer Fantasy and the new Spearhead game mode which feels a bit like a Magic the Gathering Format.  From there Kodra talks about his recent experience attending the Dragonflight Convention in the Seattle Area for the first time.  Related to that he talks about his experiences playing Starfinder 2.0.  Tam has made it further into Fallout London and shares some more thoughts about it, and Bel dives into his non-spoiler thoughts about the Janthir Wilds expansion for Guild Wars 2.  Lastly Kodra talks a bit more about Mice and Mystics.

Topics Discussed:

• Age of Sigmar 4.0

• Spearhead Format

• Dragonflight Con

• Starfinder 2

• Fallout London

• Guild Wars 2 Janthir Wilds

• Early Thoughts

• Mice and Mystics

Hey Folks!  After taking a week off from it, we are returning to our Dawntrail full spoiler show.  This week we say hi to Tam and Kodra…  before they boop out of the show given that neither has actually played FFXIV recently.  We pick up where we left off with the coronation of the new Dawn Servant and then dive into all of the "things" that happen after that.  We also talk a bit about the story surrounding the first raid of the expansion in the Arcadion. 

Topics Discussed:

• Dawn Servant Coronation

• Visiting Texico

• Some Things Happen

• Some Even Weirder Things Happen

• The Arcadion

Hey Folks! This week we are taking a break from the Dawntrail topic because Ammo was not available.  As a result we dive into a normal topic load starting with Grace talking about their experience playing Diablo IV Season 5.  From there we dive into a mega topic of Kodra and his recent trip to GenCon.  He talks about True Dungeon, Various Assorted LARPs, and some of the cool stuff from the convention floor.  We also dive into a discussion about how a convention reforms its reputation as being the D&D convention into something more open and welcoming. From there we realize that the Age of Sigmar topic is going to get bumped again…  but end up also having a bit of a pre-discussion.  Finally, we wrap things up with the charming indie game Thank Goodness You're Here.

Topics Discussed:

• Diablo IV Season 5

• Season of Infernal Hordes

• Adventures in Gencon

• True Dungeon

• Various LARPs

• How does a convention reform its reputation?

• Age of Sigmar Pre-Discussion

• The topic that keeps getting bumped

• Thank Goodness You're Here

Hey Folks!  For years we have had this tradition of recording a full spoiler show once all of the folks who are actively playing Final Fantasy XIV have completed the content.  We knew this would be an epic undertaking given that we never got around to recording a post-Endwalker show.  This is absolutely going to at a minimum be two shows…  maybe three depending upon how well the next show goes.  We used to record these epic five hour long shows that I edited down into chunks…  but have thankfully since wised up to just splitting them between several weeks.  This week we cover everything that happens after the Endwalker MSQ credit roll until just before the halfway point of Dawntrail.  Be warned, this is a full spoiler discussion as we recount the tale and talk about various details in depth along the way.

Topics Discussed:

• Post Endwalker Content

• Estinien is Bad with Money

• Once More to the Thirteenth

• An Unlikely Mentorship

• The Journey of the Dawnservant

This week we dive into the brand new Path of Exile league as we assist the Settlers of Kalguur.  We talk about our experiences with the exceptionally detailed league mechanic so far.  Tam contrasts his experience with this league with his experience playing Last Epoch. We talk a bit about our league starts and how the progress is going in both games.  From there we talk a bit about the Fallout London total conversion mod for Fallout 4.  Lastly we talk a little bit about Zenless Zone Zero the latest hoyoverse title.

Topics Discussed:

• Path of Exile

• Settlers of Kalguur League

• Shipping Mechanics

• League Starts

• Last Epoch

• Fallout London for Fallout 4

• Zenless Zone Zero

Good Morning Folks!  I am going to give you fair warning…  this is a very Path of Exile episode.  We pushed that topic to the very end of the show but once you hit it… it is pretty much an hour of talk about the upcoming Settlers of Kalguur League.  We start off the show with some discussion about Last Epoch and the most recent market crash that banned exploiters…  but left all the gold in the bloated market economy.  From there we dive into Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail and talk about the new Arcadion Raid.  We then talk a bit more about Bel and Grace's adventures in alting as they finish ARR and start into Heavensward.  Finally we do a dive into the massive meta breaking changes coming with the Settlers of Kalgurr league in Path of Exile which drops on the 26th.

Topics Discussed:

• Last Epoch

• Market Crash

• Final Fantasy XIV

• Arcadion Raid

• Further Alt Adventures 

• Starting Heavensward Again

• Path of Exile

• Settlers of Kalguur

• The Patch Notes

Hey Folks! We are back in fighting form with the entire crew.  We start off discussing SGDQ or Summer Games Done Quick a massive speedrunning community event.  From there we talk a bit about the Path of Exile 3.25 Settlers of Kalgur spoilers and some of the changes that are being made.  Then we roll into Last Epoch Cycle 2 which has so many amazing gameplay and polish improvements.  Lastly Bel and Grace talk about their nonsense mission to replay all of the FFXIV content and some of the experiences from running old content with perfect understanding of where the game story is going.  Bel has traditionally played a Lalafell and Grace a pretty dedicated Roegadamme…  and they have dared each other to swap races.  Last night after the show that happened and the show card shows the end results.  Lastly, Bel talks a bit about Blaugust which is coming up in a few weeks.

Topics Discussed:

• SGDQ

• Path of Exile 3.25 Spoilers

• Last Epoch Cycle 2

• So many improvements

• Amazingly polished experience

• Revisiting FFXIV A Realm Reborn

• Redoing Old Content with Full Understanding of the 10-Year Story Arc

• The Fantasia Dare

Hey Folks! Last night we recorded a show in which we attempted to thread the most delicate needle.  Ammo, Bel, Grace, and Thalen have all finished the Dawntrail MSQ and only really want to talk about that.  Tam however has not even started it, nor has he finished any of the post-Endwalker content.  So we play this game of minesweeper where we attempt to talk about our thoughts and feelings about Dawntrail…  without actually revealing any meaningful information about the expansion.  Bel and Grace also talk about their experiences restarting the game with fresh alts on Kraken a brand new server where everyone is a sprout.  It's hopefully a fun show and one where we don't actually spoil anything.  Though we are absolutely looking forward to our full spoiler show at some point in hopefully the near future.

Topics Discussed:

• Talking about Dawntrail without Talking about Dawntrail

• Rerolling fresh alts on Kraken.

Hey Folks! We are back to a full crew this week. We start off with a discussion about Fallen Aces which leads into a larger discussion of games that feel like spiritual successors to other games. From there we talk about Kodra's experiences with Origins and taking his kiddo to at least part of it.  We revisit the Nintendo Direct discussion from last week with a few things that Kodra specifically wanted to talk about.  Tam has returned to Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis and how it now has way more content than someone can actually do.  We wrap up the show with some initial discussion of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail which feels like a love letter to South America.

Topics Discussed:

• Fallen Aces

• Spiritual Successor Games

• Origins with a Kid

• Nintendo Direct Revisited

• MIO

• Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis 

• Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

• Our Initial Non-Spoiler Thoughts

Hey Folks! We are down essentially half our folks and as a result we have a bit shorter show than our normal fare.  We start off with some discussion about Grace's return to Final Fantasy XIV and how Bel "influenced" them into coming back.  From there we talk a bit about Four Job Fiesta and how the White Mage start is REALLY rough.  We dive into Nova Drift and talk about its roguelike take on Asteroids or Geometry Wars. Tam talks about his love of arcade racers and talks about playing the 2012 Need for Speed: Most Wanted and then Ash and Bel try and sell him on Forza Horizon.  Tam also talks about What the Car…  which is also loosely a "car game" but not really.  Then we try and wrap up the show and suddenly remember that a Nintendo Direct happened and talk about some of the games showed off.

Topics Discussed:

• Bel Lures Grace back to FFXIV

• Speedrunning a Post Expansion

• Four Job Fiesta in Final Fantasy V

• White Mage Start is Awful

• Nova Drift

• Need for Speed: Most Wanted

• What the Car

• Nintendo Direct

Hey Folks! We are down a few folks who are travelling this week.  Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.  We start off with Bel talking about the recent controversies surrounding New World Aeternum and the general marketing self-own of that announcement and seemingly ignoring the current player base.  We roll into a discussion about Steam Next Fest and a few games we have played, namely: Flintlock, Dungeon Clawler, and Beastie Ball.  From there we talk a bit about Guild Wars 2 releasing information about the new spear attacks for three more jobs and how fun some of the general off meta weapons can be.  Bel talks about getting his confidence back and tanking once more for the first time in a few years in Final Fantasy XIV.  Ash and Kodra talk about their recent experiences playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as a Tabletop Roleplaying Game.  Finally, we talk a bit about the influx of monster collection games including some more discussion about Beastie Ball.

Topics Discussed:

• New World Aeternum

• Marketing Self-Own

• Steam Next Fest

• Flintlock Siege at Dawn

• Dungeon Clawler

• Beastie Ball

• Guild Wars 2

• More Spears Released

• Fun with Off Meta Weapons

• Final Fantasy XIV

• Bel Got His Groove Back

• PokeRole

• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as TTRPG

• Monster Collection Games

• More Beastie Ball

Hey Folks! Bel crash lands the introduction by completely managing to skip over Thalen.  We have a pretty packed show as several things got bumped from the previous show. We start off the show with some discussion of Luck Be A Landlord, a game that was compared to Balatro.  From there we talk a bit about Summer Games Fest, admittedly in a disjointed manner while also talking about the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Media Tour Embargo lifting.  Bel has now wrapped up the Post Endwalker content ans is significantly more excited for Dawntrail.  Grace talks about the Alan Wake II DLC and her experiences so far with Number One Fan.  Tam talks about Star Trek Resurgence.  Collectively we talk about some One Shot TTRPG Ideas, and Kodra shares some thoughts about Dropout TV.  Finally we talk a bit about Kodra's experiences with the Kitsune Tails Demo on Steam.

Topics Discussed:

• Luck Be A Landlord

• Summer Games Fest

• FFXIV Dawntrail Media Tour

• Bel Wraps up Post-Endwalker

• Alan Wake II DLC

• Number One Fan

• Star Trek Resurgence

• RPG One Shots

• Dropout TV

• Kitsune Tails Demo

Hey Folks! Apologies for another missed show last week but Bel very narrowly missed some Twisty Weather. This week we start off the show with a discussion of Grace's recent experiences in Diablo IV and how the game has changed for the better. From there we talk about Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail and how a number of us are on the fence about playing it.  Ammo shares her thoughts about the expansion.  Bel talks about his recent experience with Pandaria Remix and how it has jarred him out of his stupor when it comes to forming groups and playing with other human beings.  Bel also shares some of the recent happenings with the Frogger incident.  Tam discusses his dive into Warhammer Orks and how they are maybe the best that game has to offer in the vibes department.  We close out the show with some discussion about a weirdly good Random PVP mode in AFK Journey.

Topics Discussed:

• Grace's experiences with Diablo IV

• AmmosArt Explains FFXIV Dawntrail

• World of Warcraft Pandaria Remix

• The Frogger Incident

• Orks are the best of Warhammer

• Random PVP Mode in AFK Journey