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

Show Notes:

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

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

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

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

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

Is this the new pillar of video game adaptations?

Show Notes:

* Music from the Arcane OST

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

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

Show Notes:

- Music from the Metroid Dread OST

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

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

Show Notes:
- Music from the Deathloop OST

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

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

Show notes:
- Music by Brad Sucks

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

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

Show Notes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Show Notes:

* Music by Brad Sucks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everywhere you look, Rogue-likes abound! What a time to be alive, then die, then be alive again. This week on the EXP Podcast, we review Returnal, discuss our favorite weapons, and tackle a challenging question: is Returnal too difficult?

Heads up: you might think we've been podcasting drunk for the past couple weeks, but you're wrong. We're just tired. Doing the late night shifts can make it tough to stay awake, but that's where we seize the opportunity to catch up on some games. But not all games perform equally well under the hazy darkness of the wee hours. This week, we dig into the games that keep us up and are as satisfying as that late night sleeve of Ritz crackers that I totally didn't eat while standing over the kitchen sink.

We're back! And just in time to defend Earthrealm from Outworld. This week, we go to the movies (by way of our couches) and debrief on the newest Mortal Kombat movie. Blood, guts, and fan service abound!

This week on the EXP Podcast, we venture into the spooky Alps of Mundaun, get dizzy looping through Loop Hero, and mend a relationship in It Takes Two!

It's time to travel back to the far flung past to analyze a pseudo-future that never came to pass. But don't worry, you have expert guides at your disposal: Jorge and I came of age in this world of virtual insanity. Ah, yes: Y2K (and the adjacent years). Inspired by a recent article from Fanbyte, we don our cyber goggles and strap on our fish-eye lenses to examine the Y2K aesthetic, its legacy, and its rediscovery.

Out of the way Michael Jordan, we've got a new set of Hall of Famers! Today on the EXP Podcast, we celebrate the latest finalists vying for a spot in the Strong Museum's Video Game Hall of Fame. We also question the purpose for a Hall of Fame, veto some games off the list, and submit our own entries in the category.

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

Hey, far be it from me to criticize someone for quitting. Walking away from something is a great feeling. But when that "something" is Journey, I just have scratch my head. This week, we talk about why people seemed to play through Ghosts of Tsushima all the way to the end while leaving other open world games unfinished. This quickly leads us down a rabbit hole of trophy stats and psychoanalysis to figure out why, after purposely getting a game, so many folks walk away.

There is one fruit that reigns above all others. A fruit whose protective peel hides untold possibilities for play. Is there any other fruit that can play a pivotal role in the future of gaming? No, say I, and Sony agrees. This week on the EXP Podcast, we talk about patents, peripherals, and bananas.

Show Notes:

You hear that? It's the sound of a jet pack gone quiet. Last week BioWare announced it's intention to shut down Anthem's relaunch, leaving us to wonder "What if?" This week, we go down the "what if?" road not just for Anthem, but for other games that seemed to have potential. We can't help but think that somewhere there's an alternate universe where we're all playing 1 vs. 100 and reading all of the GOTY awards for Cyberpunk. Maybe Anthem was the key to it all?

This week on the EXP Podcast, we discuss three new games we've been playing: Little Nightmares 2, Bowser's Fury, and Valheim. From the dark terrifying woods, to Nintendo's new open world, and into the festive halls of Valhalla, we finally have some new and exciting games to review!

Show Notes:
- Music by Brad Sucks

Please excuse all the cigar chomping noises on this week's show: we've become Hollywood producers and were told that cigars were a requirement. Video game movies and casting choices collide this week, as we cover quirky robots, furry animals, and fantasy directors' cuts. Just be glad that we didn't release the Snyder cut of this episode; it's 7 hours long.

Like digital Robin-hoods, internet sleuths and criminals have patched together two pieces of video game history. The first is the unforgettable GoldenEye 007 which is alive again with some buttery-smooth frame rates. The second is the audio tracks for Super Mario World. This week on the podcast, we chat about salvaging history by means of unethical behavior.

Oh, and E3 is back too. Sort of...

Show Notes:

Jorge and I have apparently planned out our retirement: we're going to find a museum, set up shop with a little "artifacts you can touch" cart, and lure people in to talk about video games. We still have a ways to go before living that docent life, but we can at least imagine it. Thanks to Nicole Carpenter's recent article about the links between video games and museums, we had the chance to go through some of our favorite virtual exhibits.

This week on the EXP Podcast, we go big - and I mean really big! Today we cover the latest trailer for Godzilla vs Kong, a new film in the "Monsterverse" film franchise and why we're so fascinated by massive beasts and the disasters they bring. We also identify some games that achieve an enormous sense of scale, or at least more enormous than most games.

Won't somebody please think of the children? This week, we heed Helen Lovejoy's plea and step into the fraught environment of parenting choices and children's screen time. Inspired by the continuing pandemic as well as a New York Times article on the subject, we dissect the increased screen time kids (along with everyone else) is getting. I suppose this is a good time to pat ourselves on the pack for making an audio show; no screens necessary!

Allegedly it's 2021 but, looking around, I still have my doubts. This week on the EXP Podcast, we try hope the year ahead is brighter than the last and look forward to our most anticipated games of 2021, some of which might actually come out! From AAA to indies, there are a lot of games to be excited for.

Show Notes:
- Runtime: 37 min 32 sec
- Music from Brad Sucks