Gamescom is over and the team have returned. Well, only one survivor has made it back to the podcast room - Alice B, who is here to tell us about Atomicrops, Empire of Sin, The Longing, and a whole lot more! Brendan, meanwhile has been monkeying around at home in Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. Links: All our Gamescom 2019 coverage: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/gamescom-2019/ Angela Merkel is unwell: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/11/angela-merkel-sits-anthems-after-latest-...
Aug 28, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Gamescom is next week, and it will see a few of the RPS treehousers zipping off to Cologne. In this pod, they prepare themselves for the mission ahead. Thumbs at the ready, maggots. Alice is looking forward to playing some Watch Dogs Legion, and seeing how much Laaaaahndaaaan they can fit into their game. Matthew is eager to see the Cyberpunk 2077 demo that was shown at E3, to see what’s what. Links: Matthew and Brendan played Mount and Blade 2 at Gamescom last year: https://www.youtube.com/watc...
Aug 14, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Streets Of Rogue is a tiny immersive sim full of angry gorillas. We can’t stop playing it. This week, the pod squad are gathering to chat about why they think it’s so good. But also choose their favourite characters, from a drug-addicted investment banker to a tiny naked body snatcher. Also, it’s Astrid’s first appearance! Well, her first time on the main pod, anyway. Plus, a special patch notes quiz! Links: Astrid is our new video person: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/07/17/welcome-astr...
Aug 07, 2019•1 hr 1 min
This week: the best cities in games. Alice B reckons the streets of Dishonored's Dunwall are perfectly safe. Brendan likes the upside-down buildings of the Hanging City from Outer Wilds. Meanwhile, Dave appreciates the big lights and fist fights of Kamurocho in Yakuza 0. We also talk about taxi murder-mystery game Night Call, the roguelike spaceship stormer Void Bastards, and another chaotic city in Streets of Rogue. Links: Everyday life in Yakuza’s Kamurocho: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20...
Jul 17, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Horses, that’s this week’s topic. Big galloping buddies full of teeth and flies. Alice B likes the creepy horse from Kingdom Come Deliverance, who appears behind you like a tall ghost. Brendan likes Argo from Shadow of the Colossus, even though it’s NOT ON PC YOU IDIOT. And Sin Vega joins us for the first time to sing the praises of the woman who runs around like a horse in real life. Which is ALSO NOT A PC GAME. Honestly, gang, you have one job. Links: Sin Vega is our new staff writer: https://...
Jul 11, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Oh no. This week we're forcing game characters into romantic couples. It's the shipping forecast. Alice L reckons Chell from Portal and Lara Croft would make a good couple, raiding tombs together. Brendan disagrees, putting Lara into a doomed relationship with Adam Jensen from Deus Ex. And Nate thinks the Stardew Valley protagonist would have a four-month affair with the engineer from Factorio. We’ve also been playing stuff. Brendan is clawing through rubbish bins in Pathologic 2. Alice L is enj...
Jul 04, 2019•1 hr 1 min
E3 2019 is finished! More importantly, we have almost recovered from E3 2019. To celebrate their convalescence, Alice B and Matt piled into the podcast studio for a 40-minute post-show chat about their favourite games from the show, their thoughts on the many E3 press conferences, and why it's all a bit cult-like, really. Games discussed: Ubisoft's roller derby-derived future sport Roller Champions, Obsidian's stop-getting-the-name-wrong open world RPG The Outer Worlds, and the turn-based tactic...
Jun 27, 2019•43 min
E3 is getting started this weekend. Let us be your digital sherpa through the show. Matt and Brendan join Alice B to have a big group natter about the upcoming games. Halo Infinite has Brendan glancing furtively sideways. Alice B is pretending she hasn’t seen Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order when really she has. And Matt is bouncing his knee up and down with nervous excitement for his date with Cyberpunk 2077. Links: All the games confirmed for E3: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=688727 Cyberpun...
Jun 06, 2019•1 hr 3 min
In this Soundbyte, we’re talking sexy, sexy sex games, why they’re interesting, and the queer erasure that comes along with blacklisting them from websites like Twitch. Astrid speaks to Robert Yang, NYU arts professor and renowned gay video game developer about the homophobic portion of his audience. Christine Love talks about the importance of consent through dialogue in her BDSM visual novel Ladykiller in a Bind. And Kenzie Stargrifter shares her excitement about trans cyberpunk porn game Hard...
Jun 03, 2019•14 min
Let's chat about games about discovery! Matthew likes the oceans and scoundrels of Sea of Thieves. Alice B likes finding things in the smaller locale of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture. And Brendan enjoys getting his flippers wet in Subnautica. But we’ve been playing some games that fit the theme too. Outer Wilds has got both Matthew and Brendan chewing their cheeks to tell people how good it is. Meanwhile Alice has been poking her head around another abandoned village in Draugen. Links: Sea of ...
May 30, 2019•1 hr 7 min
This week: games you might have missed recently. Alice reckons you might like Glass Masquerades 2, a jigsaw puzzler about stained-glass windows. And Brendan wants more folks to try tiny chess game Pawnbarian. We’ve also been playing stuff. Alice is witholding her Life Is Strange 2 thoughts for another time, but Brendan is ready to spit with frustration at Pathologic 2. Links: Hurling is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmzivRetelE Pawnbarian is like Slay the Spire but chess: https://www.ro...
May 23, 2019•59 min
We’re talking about good friends. Strong companions and fun-loving drinking buddies. Brendan reckons Biggs and Wedge from the Final Fantasies are a good pair. While Katharine enjoys the jibes of Aliya and her robot Six in Heaven’s Vault. But there's lots more. We’re also been playing stuff. Katharine has been rambling through Octopath Traveller, the Switch JRPG soon to be out on PC. And Brendan has been getting his head cut off in Mordhau. Links: The Biggses and Wedges throughout Final Fanatasy:...
May 17, 2019•1 hr 6 min
"Time sinks". That’s what we're talking about this week. Games that eat up your precious minutes and hours and days. Nate says Civilization V is the worst contender. Alice B points a cannibalistic finger at Graveyard Keeper. And Graham turns the whole show into a sports podcast by talking about Football Manager. Links: The Yule Lads are terrifying: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_Christmas_folklore#The_Yule_Lads Graveyard Keeper is like Stardew Valley but in a cemetery: https://www.rockp...
May 02, 2019•1 hr 2 min
This week is all about treachery, traitors and multiplayer backstabbing. Graham tells the story of his traitorous actions in sci-fi strategy game Neptune’s Pride. Brendan enjoys the double-crossing of Eve Online. And Nate remembers the turncoat star fighters of Star Wars: Tie Fighter. Links: Have you played… Star Wars: TIE Fighter? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/10/30/have-you-played-star-wars-tie-fighter/ The Neptune’s Pride chronicles: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/02/neptune...
Apr 25, 2019•1 hr 5 min
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qIu_e75a6qs This podcast takes place in a real room in front of a real audience! At Rezzed in London, we thought it’d be fun to re-enact three of the most memorable scenes of PC gaming, exactly as you remember them. Three 100% faithful adaptations of the most notorious moments in our hobby. Honest. Links: Nate is our new writey man! https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/author/natecrowley/ He writes our Dwarf Fortress diary: https://www.rockpape...
Apr 17, 2019•45 min
That quiet sobbing is coming from the RPS treehouse. Alec has left us. And John is leaving later this month. The boards will creak no more with the weight of their knowledge. The last of the old guard is waving goodbye. But we grabbed them for one last podcast, and forced them to tell us their proudest work, and to pass on their wisdom of over a decade in games journalism. They might be off, but the treehouse they’ve built will remain. (If you're wondering "where is episode 77?" - it was a live ...
Apr 11, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Sometimes you change your mind about a game partway through. John realised the caves of Spelunky weren’t so bad after all. Alice B’s feelings on the castles of Dark Souls flip-flopped all over the place. And Brendan’s early scepticism about the Yakuza games was eventually washed away. We also have time to talk more about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. And the Bloodlines sequel! John and Alice recently saw a demo for the vampirism RPG , and they are quietly excited to see how it turns out. Links: Wha...
Mar 28, 2019•57 min
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the new demi-Souls from those sadists at From Software. It’s about being a ninja with a sword and a grappling hook for an arm. Matthew and Brendan have played a few hours. Here’s what they think of it so far. They've also been playing some of The Division 2. They like the bullet-dodging and don’t care much about its vague political hand-waving. The shooty robots are what matter most. Links: Matthew and Alice L play a bit of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: https://www.yout...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Warning: contains some icky eyeball chat... Be proud of your achievements! Even if they are just in a game. Matt is proud of getting all the achievements in Spelunky. Brendan is pleased he got through Alien: Isolation at all. And Alice B was proud of her victory over the deadly final boss in Fight Night Champion. We’ve also been playing stuff. Brendan clicks buttons in galactic sim Objects In Space. Alice is nosy in the 80s Britain of first-person snooper The Occupation. And Matt has been slicin...
Mar 07, 2019•1 hr 11 min
LIES. Not a game is made without some use of smoke and/or mirror. Dave’s favourite lies come from Frog Fractions, which seems to be a child’s maths game. Brendan likes how enemies in shooters are programmed to miss. And Alice enjoys cheeky-but-friendly lies, such as the “chance to hit” something in XCOM. We’ve also been playing games. Alice and Dave have been frowning at Anthem. But we’ve also been liking Ape Out. Links: A good Twitter thread about developer trickery: https://twitter.com/Gaohmee...
Feb 28, 2019•1 hr
A ten-sided shape appears in your hands. It's this week's podcast! And it's all about puzzle games. John enjoys number puzzles like Hexcells and Globesweeper. Matt enjoys the Jindosh box of Dishonored 2. And Brendan likes being a pretend hacker in Zachlikes. But we’ve also played non-puzzle games. Apex Legends has been keeping Matt happy with its bullets and crows. While John is liking the unserious shooting of Far Cry: New Dawn. Brendan still just wants to punch people in Yakuza Kiwami. Links: ...
Feb 20, 2019•56 min
This week: the best guns. The pod squad are stocking a chest full of videogame firearms. Matthew is stocking a laser pointer from Gears of War, Alice wants the exploding teddy gun from Sunset Overdrive, and Brendan is taking Symmetra's energy gun from Overwatch. But we've also been playing games! Come hear our thoughts on post-apocalyptic shooter Metro Exodus and Inkle's upcoming translate 'em up Heaven's Vault. Links: Matthew’s video on Metro Exodus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLAZAmJPKUQ ...
Feb 15, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Oh, grow up. Booby traps as in “dangerous mechanisms that kill over-confident explorers”. Be they in temples, tombs or tunnels - traps can be anywhere (so long as it begins with a “T”). Katharine celebrates the hungry foxes of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. Brendan is fond of the jail cells of the Resident Evil 2 remake. And Alice B appreciates Half-Life 2’s barnacles. We also play a little "death traps quiz". Links: Katharine’s graphics cards coverage is pretty thorough, actually: https://www.rockp...
Feb 07, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Videogames! That’s the topic this week. Okay, you got us, we couldn’t be arsed to do a theme. But we've been playing a lot of games. Graham comes on to discuss the teeny-weeny strategies of Wargroove. And John has been enjoying the company of penguins in Subnautica: Below Zero. Meanwhile, Brendan has been running away in Resident Evil 2, trying to escape a big man in a hat. Links: Brendan’s Wargroove review: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/01/30/wargroove-review/https://www.rockpapershotgu...
Jan 31, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Battle royales. The RPS treehouse is unable to comprehend these destructive influences on society. Well, this week we’ve got a young person to help us decipher them. Ollie, one of our guides writers and freshest recruit, plays Fortnite for the fun of it. So he has been drafted in to chat to Alice B and Brendan about the ultra-deathmatch, among others. Links: Fortnite’s trap towers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cdW4d94Uf0 Nate’s Dwarf Fortress diary, part one: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com...
Jan 24, 2019•59 min
In this episode, we’ll take a look at accessibility in gaming. We talk to the studios making specialist hardware, the people that use it, and the activists and advocates who are trying to do even more to bring gaming to those who aren't able to put two hands on a keyboard or a gamepad. To read a transcript of this episode, please go here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/141PFfT-DInmZGn4NxIcjEtWG-9x2QZIqdbpv9f0UWqo/edit?usp=sharing Links: Rocky Stoutenburgh's Twitch channel: https://www.twitch...
Jan 22, 2019•11 min
New year, old friends. The RPS podcast have not been reborn, they have no resolutions, no goal to learn German or eat more spinach. They just want to play more games. Alice B is looking forward to zipping about in a big metal space tuxedo in Anthem. And Brendan is keen to let loose his inner ninja in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. But there are many, many more. Links: The most anticipated games of 2019: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/01/01/the-rps-hivemind-presents-the-most-anticipated-games-...
Jan 17, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Sometimes we get emails from people who think we create the videogames we're writing about. They report bugs, complain about crashes, demand refunds, or gush enthusiastically while asking for DLC. In lieu of a real episode this week, please enjoy some of these emails. Happy Christmas from RPS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 20, 2018•24 min
The year 2018 is going down in a storm. Hundreds of games will perish. But there’s one tiny lifeboat, and enough room for three games. It falls on the sorry shoulders of the RPS podcast crew to decide which games survive. Listen to find out what survives this terrible fate. Alice B is vouching for a well-known blockbuster. Brendan is sticking with the nautical theme. And Alice L is saving some slippery friends. But perhaps the sunken ship is just the first of their troubles. Links: Alice L’s int...
Dec 13, 2018•1 hr 1 min
There were too many games in November. So we're running through as many newly released games as we can, from Hitman 2 to Darksiders 3 to Just Cause 4 to… well, lots more. Links: Hitman 2 review: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/11/08/hitman-2-review/ Hitman is about killing your boss: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/07/19/hitman-and-the-joy-of-killing-your-boss/ Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden review: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/12/04/mutant-year-zero-review-pc/ Artifact revi...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 5 min
