The Crate and Crowbar - podcast cover

The Crate and Crowbar

The Crate and Crowbarcrateandcrowbar.com
A group of friends who work in the games industry meet up once a week to talk about PC games over a drink. “Off-the-cuff” is a polite way to say “unprofessional”, right?

Episodes

Episode 296: It’s Like There’s A Whole Other Goose In My Car

Tom F and Chris break into the pod chamber to discuss the latest wave of gaming subscription programmes, the pipe edge situations of Overland, and some game about a goose you probably haven’t heard of. You’ve always got some redundant beans. The subs models in question are Apple Arcade, Xbox Game Pass, Humble Monthly and [...]

Sep 28, 20192 hr 3 min

Episode 295: Maximum Tetanus Vectors

Chris, Tom S and Marsh discuss The Hunt: Showdown, Nocked! True Tales of Robin Hood and Astral Chain. Plus things that tinkle and jangle, things that waggle to make friars happy and things that should be renamed, remade and covered with moons. It’s a busy weekend for game releases: honk at a farmer in Untitled [...]

Sep 20, 20191 hr 8 min

Episode 294: A Spider Called Ennui

Chris, Tom F, Alex and… Marsh (!) discuss Wilmot’s Warehouse, Guild Wars 2, Slay The Spire’s new class and Control. Plus: what’s that wizard’s problem anyway, the tricky issue of endings, David Cage’s Hamlet, and so on. One is a box in Wilmot’s Warehouse. Here’s the excellent trailer, featuring Pip! Six birthdays all at once [...]

Sep 12, 20192 hr 13 min

Episode 293: Walls Are So Good

Tom F and Alex are joined by special guest Mike Cook: AI researcher, indie dev, and friend of the podcast. We get into AI judging games, combining games, designing games, and failing to understand what’s so good about walls. Also discussed: long Cebs in The International, dialogue style in A Short Hike, gossip in Fire [...]

Aug 23, 20193 hr 31 min

Episode 292: Tat Paddington

Chris, Tom F and Alex discuss Dicey Dungeons, Jupiter Hell, Exanima and Fire Emblem. Plus: arguably the worst way of categorising games we’ve ever come up with, and that’s saying something. I’m sorry, but for physics reasons I need you to cradle me and lower me to the earth. We’ve all been playing Dicey Dungeons, [...]

Aug 16, 20192 hr 5 min

Episode 291: Call The Kelpdesk

Chris, Pip and Tom F briefly return to autobattlers before discussing A Short Hike, Stones of Solace, Islanders, and the faults of a variety of algorithms. All this, just so that an otter can say well done. Pip’s lives in Teamfight Tactics now. …with breaks for Stones of Solace. Tom has taken A Short Hike [...]

Aug 09, 20192 hr 42 min

Episode 290: Teatime Overtime

Chris and both Toms wander in late to discuss assorted retro shooters, Nowhere Prophet, Fire Emblem, naughty semaphore, and additional tepid takes. I’m a murder president on the go, and I need my fix. Tom S’s been playing a big pile of all-caps retro shooters, including AMID EVIL, DUSK, Ion Fury. Tom F has been [...]

Aug 03, 20192 hr 12 min

Episode 289: Half Man Half Canoe

Tom F, Chris and Alex use videogames’ full name as they discuss Kingdom Come, Bloodstained, Griftlands, Mechanicus, The Witcher 3 and more. Chris has been pondering Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus. Alex has been developing an art collection in Assassin’s Creed: It’s A Real Journey and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Tom’s been [...]

Jul 19, 20192 hr 7 min

Episode 288: Space Ghost In A Donkey Costume

Autobattlers agogo. Pip and Chris take some time out from their busy wizard management schedule to discuss Valve’s Steam Lab before delivering the definitive verdict on the world’s array of autochesses. The Steam Labs page has all of the info you need about Valve’s disparate attempts to replace me and everyone I know with a [...]

Jul 12, 20191 hr 25 min

Episode 287: Fantasy Carpark Ballista Drift

Tom F, Chris and John discuss the cutthroat business of wizard cards, the biting bureaucracy of Pathfinder: Kingmaker, and the travails of high finance in Hitman 2 New York. Here’s a picture of a gem that might belong to a new, free, Slay The Spire character. A lot of people sure have played Dota Underlords, [...]

Jul 05, 20192 hr 10 min

Episode 286: Nice One, Blando

Chris, Tom F and Alex revisit Life is Strange, consider time’s cooldown in Touhou Luna Nights, chew noisily on Dota Underlords, and fling themselves over Shape of the World. I’ve activated the four rocks… show me the staircase. Tom’s returned to Life is Strange. Here’s the blog post by Ashly Burch that Tom mentions. Note: [...]

Jun 21, 20192 hr 57 min

Episode 285: Kleng! The Rollerskating Delivery Boy

Pip, Chris and Tom F dive into a big pile of E3 nonsense followed by a big pile of questions nonsense, considering the noun-circle ramifications of both. We’re DONE, Octavian! You know what you did! Here’s that Watch Dogs: Legion footage from E3. Also, Phil Savage’s review of the pub from Everybody’s Gone To The [...]

Jun 14, 20192 hr 56 min

Episode 284: Reasons For Declaring War On House Cats

Chris, Tom F and Alex attempt to predict Thursday’s news on Wednesday, again, and mostly fail, again. After that: SteamWorld Quest, Void Bastards, The Outer Wilds! Destiny 2 is going free to play, coming to Steam and Stadia, and getting cross-save functionality. Pricing details for Stadia have been revealed and are entirely contrary to Chris’ [...]

Jun 07, 20192 hr 54 min

Episode 283: Mork Whirlbag

Tom F, Alex and Chris convene last Wednesday to discuss ‘computer games’, including but not limited to Void Bastards, Observation, Druidstone, and Mordhau. I feel compelled to perform my military responsibilities in the modern time. Early access sky MMO Worlds Adrift is shutting down. Here’s Starbase, a computer game. Yep, they called it Modern Warfare. [...]

May 31, 20192 hr 7 min

Episode 282: The Terror of TR3-VR

Alex and the Toms gather to discuss what they have been playing on their personal computers this week. We didn’t record in our usual studio for this one, but the audio quality will return to normal soon! Tom F has been playing Path of Exile. Tom S has been playing Destiny 2 too much. Alex has [...]

May 17, 20192 hr 42 min

Episode 281: And They’re Both In League With Jive Cop

Tom F, Chris and Alex convene to chat Total War(hammer), Phantom Doctrine, Mordhau, cakes and more. He’s not the Nerevarine, he’s a very naughty boy. Here’s a man saying thank you for the bullets in PlayerUnarmed Happygrounds. Ultra Ultra, the studio who made Echo, are shutting down. Alex is staying up past his bedtime to [...]

May 10, 20192 hr 14 min

Episode 280: Old Sins Of The Sordid Asp

Chris, Tom S and Alex chat a little bit of Sekiro, some Ascension, a smooth slice of The Room, and a dash of Katana ZERO. Plus: meditations on the byzantine pizza meta, Rama Tycoon, the completely predictable fate of action dad, and our rebranding as the internet’s premier cutlery conspiracy resource. We say that we’re [...]

Apr 26, 20191 hr 17 min

Episode 279: Wherever There Is Fun, He’s Not There

Alex, Tom F and Chris discuss City of Heroes’ surprising fate, EA’s Star Wars doings, Beat Saber, Heaven’s Vault, Risk of Rain 2, and the omega egg. Here’s Cass Marshall’s article about City of Heroes’ secret SCORE server. We’ve played a bit of Beat Saber. Here’s the reveal trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. [...]

Apr 19, 20192 hr 1 min

Episode 278: But Where Are The Potatoes?

Chris, Tom F and Pip catch up on GDC highlights and discuss Darkborn, Anthem woes, Winkeltje, Sekiro, and Totally Accurate Battle Simulator. Plus: an asparagus crime to save print media, meditations on David Boreanaz The Minecraft Man, Monet’s hot nuts, and the art of Blunch. Columbo’s here, and he’s furious about Unreal Tournament. Here’s Tom’s [...]

Apr 05, 20192 hr 3 min

Episode 277: Anyway, Here’s Blight Town

Alex, Chris and Tom S discuss a brief spate of late-March game announcements before getting into Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. That’s it. It’s mostly Sekiro. We’re very keen to avoid Sekiro spoilers in this episode, but we do talk about themes and mechanics and, in one case, a few details about different environments – but [...]

Mar 29, 20192 hr 59 min

Episode 276: Plushie WASD

Chris, Pip and Alex celebrate IGF winners and huff deep on Google’s big ol’ cloud. Plus: a little Call of Duty, a little Devil May Cry, assorted nonsense beyond. Don’t die yet, we haven’t finished the pyramid’s ass. Here’s the IGF & GDCA Awards stream in full – the show begins about 25 minutes in, [...]

Mar 22, 20192 hr 21 min

Episode 275: Don’t Gild The Scissors Ghost

Tom F, Chris and Alex chat Dwarf Fortress news, franchise developments, a little Far Cry, Hypnospace Outlaw, Devil May Cry 5, and Baba Is You. Plus: getting whacked with the bollard brush, the half time cutlery switch, the sensesno.cool quadrilogy, how snake feel, a magic leap for mankind, and more. Where’s my fucking money, Paddington? [...]

Mar 15, 20192 hr 8 min

Episode 274: Goose Trevor Always

Chris, Alex and both Toms chat Far Cry: New Dawn, DiRT Rally 2.0, Star Trek Online (?) and then just say the word ‘Dune’ over and over for a while. Plus: don’t talk to me until I’ve got my bow, Ubisoft spade tax, Sir Walter Rally, Alex takes Poland, illicit Terran jambalaya, and so on. [...]

Mar 01, 20192 hr 54 min

Episode 273: Your Uncle Under The Bridge

Chris, Tom and Alex discuss Darkest Dungeon II and Ace Combat 7 and make a lot of sad and frustrated noises about Anthem. Plus: Edward Lear zooms on a leper, ejecting your upside-down cousin, when wingmates become wingquaintances, and the terble space crab. Here’s the trailer for Darkest Dungeon II. Chris and Tom have played [...]

Feb 22, 20192 hr 7 min

Episode 272: Byronic Commando

Alex, Tom S and Chris discuss Blizzard and then say nice things about Apex Legends, Resident Evil 2, and Devil May Cry 5. Plus: The Fraudulent Rustling of the Horse Boy II: Redeem This, the adventures of Gordon Fremen, middleware war among the stars, and our winter survival tips and tricks. Here’s Jason Schreier’s writeup [...]

Feb 15, 20192 hr 1 min

Episode 271: No Heroes, No Darlings, Only Chesses

In this mini-episode, Chris, Alex and Pip discuss Apex Legends and Dota Auto Chess. Sorry for the shorter episodes lately! We’ve been really busy. Patreon backers should note that they’re not being charged at the moment. Thanks for being backers, though! We very much appreciate it. Chris has been playing that Apex Legends. Pip’s been [...]

Feb 08, 20191 hr

Episode 270: Childlike Delight And A Bag Full Of Penguins

Chris and Pip chat about Subnautica: Below Zero, Sunless Skies, and Wargroove. Pip’s been playing Subnautica: Below Zero. Benedict Cumberbatch can’t say ‘penguin’. We’ve both been playing Sunless Skies. Chris is enjoying Wargroove, too. You can hang out with us and our community on our Discord channel. If you have a question for a future episode, [...]

Feb 02, 20191 hr 6 min

Episode 269: Honestly The Longer The Proboscis Is There, The Less Happy We Are

Both Toms join Chris to discuss Resident Evil 2, Battlefleet Gothic Armada II, a bit of Forgotton Anne, and more. Plus: further jazz considerations, the torpedo full of man, robot wars meta considerations, puns, wine, and so on. SteamWorld Quest: it’s been announced! Slay The Spire: it’s out now! We should get around to talking [...]

Jan 25, 20192 hr 51 min

Episode 268: The Five Rarities

Chris, Tom F, Alex and perhaps others dramatise assorted games industry dramas, discuss the anti-cheat ramifications of Dean Leaner, and explore death in a variety of warzones. Plus: Destiny 2 in 2019, Fortune-299, Slay The Spire modding, our community GOTY vote and more! In the event that our summation of the Improbable/Unity business didn’t make [...]

Jan 18, 20192 hr 17 min

Episode 267: It’s Worse When The Abyss Doesn’t Text Back

The whole gang convenes (sort of) to look back at our games of 2018 while navigating some sort of terrible segue purgatory. As discussed in this episode, the Crate & Crowbar Discord community is currently conducting its own GOTY vote! You can find out more – and cast your votes – right here. Games discussed: [...]

Dec 21, 20183 hr 49 min