Released every Thursday, The MinnMax Show features former Game Informer employees and beyond talking about the week's most exciting games or game industry news before reading feedback from the Patreon community found at patreon.com/minnmax.
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The MinnMax crew reacts to the unexpected Star Fox game announcement for Switch 2, analyzing its remake approach and character redesigns. They then deliver a glowing, spoiler-free review of Mixtape, praising its immersive music-driven narrative and high production values. The episode continues with updated impressions on the roguelike shooter Saros, comparing its replayability to Returnal, and a look at the rhythm combat of Dead as Disco in early access. Finally, the discussion shifts to the gaming industry's landscape, dissecting Xbox's recent PR strategies, leadership changes, and the broader challenges of video game journalism and fan engagement.
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - We'll DM you a Steam code for Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection if you support MinnMax at the $5 tier or higher before Monday, May 4th. This offer is for new supporters only. MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Leo Vader, Sarah Podzorski, and Janet Garcia talk about the most exciting games they've been playing recently - which includes a hands-on preview event for 007 First Light from the creators of Hitman! They also talk about Moves of the Diamond Hand, Eternal Love, Double ...
Unlock early, ad-free access to The MinnMax Show and find a benefit that's right for you - https://www.patreon.com/minnmax This week on The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, and Jeff Marchiafava rave about Housemarque's new action roguelikes for PlayStation called Saros and discuss how the game compares to Returnal. This is a spoiler-free discussion and codes were provided by PlayStation. Then we talk about the excellent Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Surv...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock the early, ad-free version of The MinnMax Show and support independent games coverage directly on Patreon. MinnMax's Ben Hanson is joined by Jacob Geller, Janet Garcia, Kyle Hilliard, and Jeff Marchiafava unleash thoughts on Capcom's new moon-focused IP called Pragmata, explain why Minos is worth checking out, and weigh the pros and cons of Super Meat Boy 3D. Then we're joined by Sarah Podzorski and Haley MacLean as we revisit The Legend of Zelda: Twiligh...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kelsey Lewin, Leo Vader, and Kyle Hilliard share their thoughts on new game releases like the admirable but flawed Samson: A Tyndalston Story, the impressive musical-JRPG People of Note, Monster Hunter Stories 3 on the Nintendo Switch 2, and more. Then Kyle Hilliard talks about returning to play Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox Assault on the GameCube as we discuss the best path ...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - We'll DM you a Steam code for Skate Story if you support MinnMax at the $5 tier before Monday, April 6th. New or returning supporters welcome. We'll update this description if we run out of codes. MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kelsey Lewin, Jacob Geller, and Kyle Hilliard are joined by former MinnMax Guest Cohort Alanah Pearce as she launches her own production company called Charred Pictures that focuses on adapting video games to TV and movies in a way that's friendli...
We'll DM you a Steam code for the great new game Perfect Tides: Station to Station if you support MinnMax at any tier on Patreon (or upgrade your tier) before Monday, March 30th. https://www.patreon.com/minnmax MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Leo Vader, Jeff Marchiafava, and Kyle Hilliard unpack the messy, open-world glory of Crimson Desert and rave about the new arcade racing game Screamer. Then Haley MacLean joins the show to share spoiler-free thoughts on wrapping up Pokopia and Ben longs for the multi...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock the ad-free and early version of this podcast and support it directly on Patreon MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Leo Vader, Jacob Geller, and Janet Garcia are joined by legendary game writer Erik Wolpaw (Portal, Portal 2, Psychonauts, Half-Life: Alyx) to celebrate the release of Mega Crit's Slay the Spire II and explain how it's the incredible sequel to one of the greatest games ever made. Then we talk about Janet and Jacob's trip to the Game Developer's Conference...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock an early, ad-free version of The MinnMax Show and directly support independent games media MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Sarah Podzorski, Kelsey Lewin, Jeff Marchiafava, and Haley MacLean gather to celebrate the unbelievably fun Pokémon Pokopia on the Nintendo Switch 2. We also talk about the glowing reviews for the cRPG Esoteric Ebb, share early impressions of Slay the Spire 2 in early access, Kelsey talks about her preview trip to play Big Walk at Panic, Sarah ...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock the early, ad-free version of The MinnMax Show and more by supporting us directly on Patreon. MinnMax's guest host Haley MacLean is joined by Leo Vader, Jacob Geller, and Kyle Hilliard to share first impressions on Bungie's Marathon and how it compares to Arc Raiders in the extraction genre. We talk about Highguard being taken offline and the thrills of Pokémon Winds and Waves before Leo Vader regales us with torrid love affair with Spider-Man: Miles Mora...
MinnMax's Haley MacLean, Janet Garcia, Kelsey Lewin, Kyle Hilliard, and Jeff Marchiafava talk about Capcom's latest triumph with Resident Evil Requiem. Then Kelsey regales us with tales of PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse and JeffM sits us down to talk about Insider Trading. After that, it's all hands on deck with unpacking the most exciting demos from Steam Next Fest like Replaced and Denshattack. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community and award the iam8bit question o...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock the early, ad-free version of The MinnMax Show and other benefits by directly supporting independent games media MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kyle Hilliard, Jeff Marchiafava, and Janeet Garcia unpack the surprising release of a 2D God of War prequel called Sons of Sparta before Kyle regales us with the painful wonder of the Virtual Boy. Then we rundown our favorite reveals and games from the big State of Play revealing the roadmap for the PlayStation 5, we show ...
We'll DM you a Steam code for Consume Me if you join MinnMax at the $5 tier before Monday, 2/16/26. New supporters only. We'll update this description and post on social if we run out of our 200 codes. https://www.patreon.com/minnmax MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, and Jeff Marchiafava unpack the wild, new game from Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture called Romeo Is A Dead Man. Then Janet Garcia joins the show and we debate the direction of one of PlayStation's biggest brands ...
We'll DM you on Patreon with a Steam code for the fantastic game Sektori if you support MinnMax at the $2 tier before Monday, February 9th. This is for NEW supporters only, not returning or upgrading. 200 Steam codes available, we'll update this description if we run out. https://www.patreon.com/minnmax MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kelsey Lewin, and Kyle Hilliard are joined by Jeremy Parish (who you might know from Retronauts or 1UP back in the day) as we each share picks of some of the weirdest Ninten...
Donate here for Giant Bomb and MinnMax's ICE Out charity stream this Friday at 5pm Central on Twitch and YouTube - http://bit.ly/iceoutminneapolis MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Haley MacLean, Jeff Marchiafava, and Jacob Geller rave about the new mountain-climbing game Cairn before diving into Cyberpunk 2077 and the history of reevaluating games years after they released. After that we have a fun discussion about whether Playground's Fable launching later this year can compare to the original game, defen...
We'll DM you a Steam code for Sword of the Sea if you support MinnMax at the $5 tier on Patreon before Monday, January 26th! New supporters only. We'll post on Instagram and Bluesky if we run out. https://www.patreon.com/c/minnmax MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kelsey Lewin, Kyle Hilliard, and Jacob Geller share picks for their most-anticipated games of 2026 in this big episode of The MinnMax Show! From big games like GTA VI and Resident Evil Requiem to smaller, more promising games on the horizon like O...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock an early and ad-free version of The MinnMax Show by supporting us at the $5 tier on Patreon! MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Janet Garcia, Jeff Marchiafava, and Kyle Hilliard gather together for the 5th year in a row to check in on their predictions from the previous year AND accurately predict every big game and enormous piece of gaming news from 2026. Then we talk about the approchable roguelike deck builder called Dogpile before Triple Click's Maddy Myers joins ...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media On this episode of The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson, Kelsey Lewin, Kyle Hilliard, Jeff Marchiafava, and Jacob Geller share the community's ranking of the best games from 2025 before launching into discussions on some impactful games that they missed from the year before like Many Nights A Whisper, Wednesdays, Fulcrum Defender, and Rhythm Doctor. Kelsey also talks about her ongoing journey with the great, ...
Unlock the hour-long post-debate airing of grievances we call "The Pissy Zone" by joining the $10 Backstage Pass tier. https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-to-145988285 It all comes down to this. Ben Hanson, Haley MacLean, Jacob Geller, Janet Garcia, Jeff Marchiafava, Kelsey Lewin, Kyle Hilliard, Leo Vader, and Sarah Podzorski debate the final ranking for MinnMax's Game of the Year list for 2025 and crown one game with the #1 spot. Will it be Hollow Knight: Silksong? Ghost of Yotei? Clair ...
Unlock the full Game of the Year debate weeks early, including our hour-long post-debate airing of grievances we call "The Pissy Zone" by joining the $10 Backstage Pass tier. https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-to-145988285 We're officially kicking off MinnMax's 2025 Game of the Year debate, which we call The Two Tens! We've gathered the full crew of Ben Hanson, Haley MacLean, Jacob Geller, Janet Garcia, Jeff Marchiafava, Kelsey Lewin, Kyle Hilliard, Leo Vader, and Sarah Podzorski to crea...
The MinnMax Awards for 2025 gathers the full crew to debate and crown winners across six distinct categories, including the Best Moment, Dumbest Thing, and Biggest News in gaming. The episode features lively discussions on various game mechanics, industry controversies, and memorable experiences, culminating in the selection of the year's top and most absurd entries. From surprising game features to corporate missteps, the team covers the spectrum of 2025's gaming landscape.
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Get a Steam code for Shinobi: Art of Vengeance by supporting MinnMax at the $5 tier on Patreon before 12/15. This offer is for brand new supporters only. We'll post on Instagram and Bluesky when we run out of codes. For the last episode of The MinnMax Show before our end-of-year awards, guest host Haley MacLean invites Janet Garcia, Jacob Geller and Leo Vader for one last grab bag of 2025 indies before bringing in special guest Santa Claus to evaluate whether ev...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media Guest host Kyle Bosman completes his trilogy of episodes with a discussion on the incredibly long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 with Kyle Hilliard! Then they team up with Jacob Geller, Charles Harte, and Leo Vader to listen to a wide variety of the most incredible game music of the year. After some fun community questions, we reveal the episode's Twerp, and it's not who you think... To jump to a particular ...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media MinnMax's official Usual Guest Host Kyle Bosman teams up with fellow Kyle Kyle Hilliard to unpack Nintendo's whelming Fall offerings, with Sarah Podzorski diving into her latest favorite shopkeeper sim Strange Antiquities and Leo Vader also in the mix providing an undefinable je ne sais quoi. Then the crew answers some all-bangers community questions before revealing who was this episode's Twerp! To j...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media MinnMax's host of Bonus Pod Haley MacLean becomes host of Main Pod this week as she guides Janet Garcia, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard and Leo Vader through conversations on narrative hit Dispatch, narrative miss Deadpool VR, the follow-up to Before Your Eyes with Goodnight Universe, and some more candid takes on Lumines Arise before revealing her mysterious Secret Sauce. Then the non-Pew Pew Bang crew ...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media MinnMax's Leo Vader is flanked from all sides by guest host Kyle Bosman, guest guest Mark MacDonald, and fan favorite Ana Diaz to walk through Steam's surprise hardware announcement as we kick off The Second Paternity Leave Era of MinnMax. Then we talk about Lumines Arise with Mark's developer perspective before Kyle unpacks their unusual trailer strategy. After that, we explain the smart deduction me...
The MinnMax crew shares their fervent addiction to Embark Studios' new extraction shooter, Arc Raiders, discussing its unique social dynamics, loot system, and groundbreaking audio design. They also explore the unprecedented Simpsons x Fortnite collaboration, which reimagines Springfield within the Battle Royale map, and take a deep dive into the rich history presented in the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. The episode further touches on intriguing indie titles like Evil Egg and No, I'm Not A Human, and delves into Stray Children, a spiritual successor to the beloved RPG Moon, before answering a wide array of community questions.
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - Unlock a benefit and directly support independent games media MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Jacob Geller, Sarah Podzorski, Janet Garcia, Jeff Marchiafava, and Leo Vader assemble for a big episode where we prepare for our Game of the Year debate for 2025. We share picks for games that we want to see on the list of "The Two Tens" and we need more people to play. After that, we talk about the excellent new games Town to City and Whisper of the House before unpacking Leo an...
https://www.patreon.com/minnmax - We'll DM you TWO Steam codes for Wildgate by supporting MinnMax at the $5 tier before 10/27/25, or you can upgrade your tier! MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kelsey Lewin, Haley MacLean, and Janet Garcia celebrate MinnMax's 6th anniversary by unleashing their thoughts on Pokémon Legends: Z-A from Game Freak and lamenting on how you can squint to see an awesome game somewhere in this mix. Then Kyle Hilliard joins the show to talk about Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted before ...
We'll DM you a Steam code for Promise Mascot Agency if you support MinnMax on Patreon at any tier before 10/20/25. We'll post on all social channels if we run out of codes. https://www.patreon.com/minnmax MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kyle Hilliard, married man Jacob Geller, and special guest Chris Plante from The Besties and Post Games break down their love for the new rogue games Absolum, Ball X Pit, and Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. They also go back in time to re-review Super Mario Galaxy 2 now that...
