EXP Podcast #638: Mute All

"GGEZ"

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.

 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #637: Twelve Minutes Debrief and Deathloop check in

Honey, are you feeling murdery tonight?

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...

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.

 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 37 min 24 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #636: Games Done Slow and More

Now I just have to keep this up
for 3 days straight.

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 37 min 28 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #635: PlayStation Showcase 2021 Recap

You were in diapers when development started.

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 42 min 03 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #634: Death's Door and Boyfriend Dungeon Debriefs

Can birds...kiss?

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 34 min 11 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #633: Back on Our Bullshit

Slap this image on anything and I'll buy it.

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 34 min 11 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #632: Fortnite Mania

Now that's a Grande!

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?

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #631: Hack and Slash and Peck and Smooch

Live by the blade, love by the blade

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 32 min 45 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #630: All Aboard the Steam Deck

Searching for "Steam Deck moe"

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!?

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 34 min 29 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #629: Pokemobas, Discos, and Ninjas

It's gotta be the shoes.

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?

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 39 min 18 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #628: Gaming for Olympic Gold

If not CoD, how about Tag?

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? This week on the EXP Podcast, we go for gold!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 50 min 11 sec

- Music from the Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart original soundtrack

EXP Podcast #627: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Debrief

When God closes a door, he opens a rift

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 50 min 11 sec

- Music from the Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart original soundtrack

EXP Podcast #626: Nintendo Kickstand Hype

Look at that glorious kickstand

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #625: Directors Cuts and Summer Scoops

The living embodiment of the director's cut.

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. 

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 37 min 29 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #624: Ratchet Village Mini-Debrief

Eat your heart out Spider Man

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, Terra Nil, and the wackiest Mario Kart yet? More games are on the horizon, so look for more debrief discussions in the near future!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #623: E3 2021 Debrief

Why not, I guess?

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 46 min 30 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #622: Pokémon Snap and Chill

"I'm naked right now."

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #621: SteamPal, Fantasy Souls, and E3 Identity Crisis

Chocobo, pictured here in Dark Souls attire

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 35 min 33 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #620: Returnal Debrief

Oh no. I left my phone charger on earth!

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?

Want to share your thoughts on the game? Send us an email!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Opening credits from the Returnal Official Launch Trailer

- End music from the Returnal OST

EXP Podcast #619: Playing to Stay Awake

"Before Your Eyes" definitely keeps you awake

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 36 min 18 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #618: Mortal Kombat (2021) Debrief

Spoiler: there are ninjas

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 49 min 17 sec

- Music from Mortal Kombat (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

EXP Podcast #617: Mundaun, Loop Hero, and It Takes Two

Hay! Check out Mundaun!

This week on the EXP Podcast, we venture into the spooky hand-drawn Alps of Mundaun, loop ourselves dizzy in Loop Hero, and mend a relationship in It Takes Two. It's game time!

We also celebrate a growing EXP family, so expect a short break over the next few weeks while I take care of a newborn. Share your congratulations by leaving us a review wherever you find your weekly podcasts!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #616: In Search of the Y2K Aesthetic

Archival image of me as a teen in the year 2000

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 38 min 35sec

- "Video Games Are Leading the Return of the Y2K Aesthetic," by De'Angelo Epps, via Fanbyte

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #615: The Hall of Fame

And the nominees are...

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.

Got a Hall of Fame nominee? Send us an email!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

- 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists

EXP Podcast #614: The Endgame Exit

A flute solo at the edge of the world

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 42 min 10 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #613: Banana Controllers

The future of gaming.

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 38 min 38 sec

- "Sony’s latest patent application: a banana PlayStation controller," by Owen Good via Polygon

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #612: Anthem of the Almost-Great

A mothballed mech

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?

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 41 min 12sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #611: Nightmares, New Worlds, and Vikings

Trying to go for a morning jog.

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #610: Casting Call!

He's been training for this his whole life.

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 43 min 10 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #609: Digital Restorations

"I'm not that odd."

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...

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- "GoldenEye 007’s canceled Xbox 360 remake is now playable online," by Cass Marshal via Polygon

- "Fans have restored Super Mario World’s soundtrack, thanks to Nintendo ‘Gigaleak’" by Ana Diaz via Polygon

- Runtime: 32 min 35 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #608: A Night at the Video Game Museum

Everyone's favorite museum curator

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.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- "In-game museums are great because all video games are museums," by Nicole Carpenter, via Polygon

- Runtime: 32 min 35 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #607: Into the Monsterverse

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.

 

Got a favorite Godzilla game or movie? Toss us an email and let us know!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 41 min 44 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #606: Screentime Scamps

Might as well be a real picture of me and my son.

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!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 41 min 22 sec

- "Children's Screen Time Has Soared in the Pandemic, Alarming Parents and Researchers," by Matt Richtel, via the New York Times

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #605: The Year Ahead 2021

Earth, 2021

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. Let us know what you're most hyped about by sending us an email!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.

 

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 37 min 32 sec

- Music from Brad Sucks