Into the Aether – A Low Key Video Game Podcast

Surprise! We're back a week early with an absolute behemoth. To celebrate hitting 1 million downloads of the show a few months ago (!!), we're proud to present our one-hundred favorite games of the decade from the years 2000 to 2009! A sincere thank you to everyone who has ever listened to, shared, or backed the show. We couldn't have done this without you, for real. We thought there was no better way to share our gratitude than by following up the fan-favorite GOTD episode we did in 2019.

And for those of you who DO back the show, make sure to head over to our Patreon to hear ANOTHER episode in which we chop the initial list down from 200+ to the 100 that made it here.

Relevant Links:
https://www.polygon.com/23779797/zelda-games-link-hairstyles
https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/798
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Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
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Season 7 cover art coming soon from Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Surprise! We're here a week early!
• (07:35) - 2000
• (01:01:32) - 2001
• (02:07:42) - 2002
• (03:09:10) - 2003
• (04:06:27) - 2004
• (05:38:41) - 2005
• (06:58:32) - 2006
• (09:04:28) - 2007
• (10:09:50) - 2008
• (11:21:42) - 2009
• (12:33:33) - Honorable Mentions
• (13:50:42) - Making the Top 5
• (15:12:24) - Ranking the top 5
• (15:49:57) - Look at how far you've come. We are so proud of you and you should be proud of yourself.
• (15:53:50) - Thanks for 1 million listens <3

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT FOR SOME GAMES INCLUDED IN THE LIST

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Music credits

1. Plains of Time (Home World) by Yasunori Mitsuda from Chrono Cross
2. You Were There by Michiru Oshima, Koichi Yamazaki, Mitsukuni Murayama, Steven Geraghty from Ico
3. National Park by Junichi Masuda from Pokémon Crystal
4. Creation of Art (Full Option) by Ken Ishii from Rez
5. Simple and Clean by Hikaru Utada from Kingdom Hearts
6. Dragon Roost Island by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo from The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker
7. History Unfolds by Junichi Nakatsuru, Yoshihito Yano, Asuka Sakai, Rio Hamamoto, Ryuchi Takada, Junichi Takagi from Soul Calibur II
8. Lonely Rolling Star by Yoshihito Yano, Saki Kabata from Katamari Damacy
9. Mischievous Robot by Daisuke Amaya from Cave Story
10. Able Sisters by Kazumi Tokata from Animal Crossing
11. Turnabout Sisters Theme by Masakazu Sugimori from Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
12. Lazy Afternoons by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts 2
13. King and Country by Jeremy Soule from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
14. Wii Sports by Kazumi Totaka from Wii Sports
15. Gusty Garden Galaxy Theme by Mahito Yokata, Koji Kondo from Super Mario Galaxy
16. Pursuing My True Self by Shihoko Hirata from Persona 4
17. Melody in an Ancient Town by Koichi Sugiyama from Dragon Quest V
18. Lake by Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara, Junichi Masuda, GO Ichinose from Pokemon Platinum
19. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 by James Silva from I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 
20. キミの記憶 (Your Memory) by Yumi Kawamura from Persona 3
21. Auld Lang Syne from THE HEART. WE LOVE YOU.

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Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:
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On the finale of X-Strike Summer, AJ chats with Dom Nero (Eye of the Duck) and Kyle Starr (Y-Button) about being gamer dads, puzzle games, and how you are well within your rights to return any console within 30-days because you can't beat the Elden Ring DLC. It is *not* your fault, it's the *controller* that's broken.

Dom's Links
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/dominicknero
Dom's website: https://domnero.com
Dom's story "the bells" in the No Tokens journal: https://notokensjournal.com/fiction/the-bells/
The Eye of the Duck podcast:  http://www.eyeoftheduckpod.com/

Kyle's Links
On Threads: https://www.threads.net/@_kylestarr
On Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@kylestarr
The Y-Button podcast: http://ybutton.online/
Zero Counts: https://zerocounts.net/

Into the Game Jam Links
itch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024
Find the forum thread on the TWG Discord: Navigate to the "Games Forums" category, select the games-events forum, find "Into The Game Jam (Summer 2024)" forum thread and say hello!

Discussed: Into the Game Jam, being a Gamer Dad, Sell My Old Consoles I'm Off to Handheld from Zero Counts, Video Games are Millennials Too from Zero Counts, the hand-me-down console, Shadows of the Empire Was the Original Star Wars Smuggler Story by Dom for Esquire, the Anbernic RG405V in transparent purple, the Gamegirl, gaming curriculum, Describing the Aether, getting your kids to like junk food, Kyle's Gameboy restorations, the PICO-8, games being made *right now*, Splore, Retro Game Corps, a bunch of Splore games (check the chapters!), Playdate's Lua SDK, thoughts about games, X-Strike or X-Strike? Or X-Strike???, more like the Lame-o of Time, Kingdom Hearts, Animal Well, Return of the Obra Dinn, Chants of Sennaar, Apotris, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Cocoon, COCOON - Story and Ending Explained by Pixel Pondering, this Second Wind video about puzzles, games Kyle has been thinking about, The Legend of Zelda: The Ultimate Trial, the ONE Metal Gear Solid to play, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Lookouts, the finale of X-Strike Summer <3
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Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro with Dom and Kyle!
• (01:42) - Into the Game Jam is underway!!!
• (05:52) - What it's like being a gamer dad
• (16:16) - What games our kids will play
• (24:01) - Gaming 101
• (31:09) - Kyle's handheld experience
• (39:23) - PICO-8, a fantasy console
• (47:29) - Dom's Splore list
• (47:36) - Hot Wax | Dom's Splore list
• (48:08) - Marble Merger | Dom's Splore list
• (48:14) - Tetrolled | Dom's Splore list
• (48:39) - Embrace | Dom's Splore list
• (49:07) - Just One Boss | Dom's Splore list
• (49:44) - Modern game design with limited tools
• (52:49) - Kyle's rabbithole
• (01:08:15) - How's AJ doing?
• (01:10:44) - Gaming is back
• (01:11:47) - Kingdom Hearts | Kyle's big ol' list
• (01:19:53) - Animal Well | Kyle's big ol' list
• (01:32:07) - Games that Kyle has been thinking about
• (01:35:16) - The Legend of Zelda: The Ultimate Trial | IF YOU'RE GOING TO STOP LISTENING, LISTEN TO THIS BIT AT LEAST
• (01:44:29) - AJ's been thinking about Metal Gear Solid
• (01:48:26) - Shadow of the Erdtree| What if someone made a game that was hard???
• (01:50:45) - Lookouts | Stay tuned for more on dotzip!
• (01:51:42) - X-Strike Summer is over!!!
• (01:53:15) - Find Dom and Kyle's links in the show notes!
• (01:56:06) - Wrapping up

Shhh be very quiet... our guests are very sleepy today, they need their rest... AJ chats with Emily Price (Unwinnable), Robin Bea (inverse), Tamoor Hussain (Gamespot), and Willa Rowe (Kotaku) about Geoff's Big Week, "these uncertain times", and 1000xRESIST again!

Emily's Links
Emily's Review of Saltsea Chronicles: Saltsea Chronicles Beautifully Finds A Way Forward
Past Presence for Unwinnable: https://unwinnable.com/author/emily-price/
Profile on Paste Magazine: https://www.pastemagazine.com/author/emily-price
On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/emilyprice.bsky.social
Website: https://emily-price.neocities.org/

Robin's Links
Robin's inteview with Xalavier Nelson: The Best Noir Shooter of 2023 Has Only Gotten More Relevant
Profile on inverse: https://www.inverse.com/profile/robin-bea-53955560
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinbombus
Girl Mode: https://pod.link/1653178238

Tam's Links
Tam's Shadow of the Erdtree preview: Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Renews The Awe And Adventure Of Elden Ring
Profile on Gamespot: https://www.gamespot.com/profile/Tamz/
On the Friends Per Second SGF episode: https://pod.link/1629844110/episode/2960bce32ae25ad04faa225f68e97a85
On Twitch: https://twitch.tv/tamoorh
Something to help you get through the Elden Ring DLC: https://gfuel.com/products/elden-ring-crimson-tears

Willa's Links
Willa's love letter to Dragon's Dogma 2: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s Great
Profile on Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/author/thewillarowe
Girl Mode on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girlmode_pod
Girl Mode on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/girlmodepod.bsky.social

Into the Game Jam Links
itch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024
Find the forum thread on the TWG Discord: Navigate to the "Games Forums" category, select the games-events forum, find "Into The Game Jam (Summer 2024)" forum thread and say hello!

Discussed: Summer Game Fest, "The Year of the Indie", searching for new ideas, Emily's sub-column "Object Lessons", Victory Heat Rally Shakedown, NextFest, Demonschool, the naming problem, the Tribeca Festival, Metal Gear Solid: Delta gameplay trailer, Dragon Age: The Veilguard reveal and gameplay, the state of the industry, The Bittersweet Feeling Of Seeing Your Game Revealed After Getting Laid Off by Nathan Grayson for Aftermath, Blumhouse is Redefining The Approach to Horror Games | Gamespot Summer Live, 1000xRESIST (again), Fear the Spotlight, Hauntii, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, ODDADA, Tiny Glades, Thank Goodness You're Here, Baldur's Gate 3, Trails in the Sky the 3rd, Trails into Reverie Continues the Most Ambitious Epic in Games by Mark Normandin, Preserve, Building Relationships
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Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro with my haggard companions
• (01:47) - What did we think of SGF (and the surround events)?
• (06:30) - "The Year of the Indie"
• (24:56) - Metal Gear Solid Delta Gameplay Reveal | The tables turn
• (29:49) - Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Emily's allotted AAA brainspace
• (35:49) - The state of the industry
• (47:35) - Check out the work of our guests! Links in the show notes!
• (51:33) - 1000xRESIST | Hekki Allmo, listeners
• (54:40) - Fear the Spotlight | From the studio that brought you M3GAN
• (01:01:18) - Hauntii | Do you go to Heaven???
• (01:04:03) - Animal Well | You ever heard of this one?
• (01:06:52) - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | A game you play in your notebook
• (01:09:05) - ODDADA | Games but you don't have to buy them (yet)
• (01:11:53) - Ebitapes | Games but you don't have to buy them (yet)
• (01:14:19) - Thank Goodness You're Here | Games but you don't have to buy them (yet)
• (01:16:53) - Baldur's Gate 3 | Video game but BIG
• (01:19:35) - Trails in the Sky the 3rd | Get out of the cube
• (01:22:25) - Preserve | Score-fromantik
• (01:22:45) - Building Relationships | Are you a rooftop or a bottom floor?
• (01:23:41) - Check out NextFest! | Be careful with the porn
• (01:23:53) - Find our guests in the show notes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• (01:26:43) - Wrapping up

there was a nintendo direct today, so the boys came out of  ̶r̶e̶t̶i̶r̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ their summer break to talk about it real quick.

This week AJ chats with Alanna Okun and Chase Allhart about their experiences with game design (and game design adjacent) education! They also confront the age old question: what even is a video game, anyway?

Into the Game Jam Links
itch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024
Find the forum thread on the TWG Discord: Navigate to the "Games Forums" category, select the games-events forum, find "Into The Game Jam (Summer 2024)" forum thread and say hello!

Alanna's Links
Website: https://alannaokun.xyz
Buttonmash newsletter: https://buttonmash.substack.com/
Games made with bitsy: https://itch.io/games/made-with-bitsy

Chase's Links
Video Game Podtimism: https://podtimism.com

Discussed: TWG's Into the Game Jam (Summer 2024), Chase's Gamer Cred, Alanna's journey to game design, Alanna's Majora's Mask piece, what is a game, Journey, idea games, Bitsy, telling stories through mechanics, the search for tighter experiences (again), Outersloth, 1000xRESIST, Unicorn Overlord, Animal Well, sweet and salty games, Elden Ring, an embarrassment of riches, Persona 3 in its various forms, Skald: Against the Black Priory, Slice & Dice, Loop Hero.
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Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:02) - TWG's Into the Game Jam! Links in the show notes!!
• (02:18) - Gamer Credentials
• (02:39) - Chase's journey
• (05:14) - Alanna's journey
• (13:04) - What is a video game?
• (33:46) - The search for tighter experiences
• (44:30) - 1000xRESIST | An infomercial for the game by sunset visitor
• (51:55) - Unicorn Overlord | A masterful segue
• (54:41) - Animal Well | The "five M&Ms" of gaming
• (01:01:32) - Elden Ring | The quest to git gud again
• (01:03:43) - Persona 3 | A safe space
• (01:12:02) - Skald: Against the Black Priory | Chase what is this game!!!!
• (01:16:02) - Slice & Dice | Granola-likes
• (01:20:13) - Loop Hero | oreH pooL
• (01:23:19) - Where to find Alanna and Chase online (check the show notes!)
• (01:27:09) - Wrapping up

Welcome to the first EVER episode of Into the Aether: X-Strike Summer! We kick of the series with games industry pros (and TWG community members) Kyle Labriola, Murray Cameron-Smith and NBZ!

This week's episode is REQUIRED to be listened to at .75 speed to make up for all the times you were listening at 3x, you sickos.
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Kyle's Links
Blog: https://blueberrylemonade.pika.page/
Indie Games of Cohost: https://cohost.org/IndieGamesOfCohost
Rhythm Doctor: https://store.steampowered.com/app/774181/Rhythm_Doctor/
A Dance of Fire and Ice: https://store.steampowered.com/app/977950/A_Dance_of_Fire_and_Ice/

Murray's Link
A Shell In The Pit: https://ashellinthepit.com/

NBZ's Links
This Nintendo Life: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P4WI8rVRpAMjDIxJLqJUn
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@lordnbz
Playstack Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/Playstack

Discussed: X-Strike Summer!, podcast listening speeds, Adam Sandler’s opus: Click, the competitive value of Shuckle, the slow boil of becoming an indie game dev, watching a game blow up, separating work brain and regular brain, how to work from home, Dadish 3D, Sokpop Collective, short experiences, Toree 3D, Cavern of Dreams, Pseudoregalia, Persona 3 Portable, Beyond the Beyond, Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals, Rhythm Sprout, this Rhythm Heaven tiktok, maimai, searching for tighter experiences.
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:14) - Welcome to X-Strike Summer!
• (02:27) - Histories with ITA and TWG
• (06:59) - Getting in to the industry
• (18:34) - What it's like to watch a game blow up
• (24:12) - Getting brought into the fold
• (29:07) - Creative Broken Brain(tm)
• (41:27) - A surprise guest! (It's Crash Bandicoot)
• (41:54) - Dadish 3D | The latest installment in the Dadish Cinematic Universe
• (48:25) - Toree 3D | A lil bird that jumps :-)
• (52:41) - Persona 3 Portable | Another condensed game with a 3 in the title
• (01:02:09) - Beyond the Beyond | On the Retroid QWERTY123FFXIV Pro
• (01:05:34) - Lufia 2 | A game that forces you to use your items
• (01:18:02) - Rhythm Sprout | More little guys!
• (01:29:08) - Are people looking for more focused experiences?
• (01:43:30) - Check the links in the show notes!
• (01:45:25) - Wrapping up

You've traveled far and faced trials that would demoralize most... or worse.

But here you emerge, into the sun, holding in your hands the thing you've been searching for so long: The Uncharted bonus episode of Into the Aether.
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - It's Uncharted time BABY
• (02:18) - NaughtyDog's influence and the state of crunch
• (09:06) - Histories with the series
• (39:18) - Nate's Theme by Greg Edmonson
• (39:44) - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
• (01:05:00) - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
• (01:20:32) - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
• (01:33:23) - Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• (01:41:08) - A Thief's End by Henry Jackman
• (01:41:39) - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
• (02:13:24) - Uncharted: Lost Legacy
• (02:28:34) - A Thief's End by Henry Jackman
• (02:28:58) - Nathan Drake (said in the cadence of "Donkey Kong")
• (02:29:27) - Uncharted losing the supernatural | From Rebecca
• (02:34:46) - What if instead of combat... anything else? | From GJ
• (02:37:47) - Nathan Drake loves SUBS | From Cameron
• (02:40:20) - Uncharted: Drake's CInematic Adaptation | From Matt
• (02:43:20) - Drake's Fancast | From Ponk
• (02:47:12) - THE Uncharted game | From saiklex
• (02:48:56) - The sibling reveal | From Christian Spicer
• (02:51:03) - Ludonarrative dissonance | From Lady Borkington's Biggest Fan
• (02:52:37) - Twodonarrative dissonance | From Chase
• (02:55:33) - Uncharted's influence | From Brittlemoon
• (03:02:35) - Wrapping up
• (03:05:36) - Nate's Theme

iO, eat your heart out.

See you on July 17th! 

Discussed: XStrike Summer, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Myst, Animal Well, Brendon solving the final puzzle of The Witness, Brendon's number 16 Game of the Year, Zero Stranger, Void Ranger, Burnout Paradise, the PSP, Soma Bringer, the Xeno series, Diablo, have a good Summer (to our Northern hemisphere pals)!
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:46) - Announcing some more stuff!
• (05:47) - The cool theme song for when we talk about games
• (06:12) - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | Very clever, Signorina
• (24:58) - Zero Stranger and Void Ranger | Two Sky Ballets
• (49:41) - Burnout Paradise | Peeling out to senior prom
• (01:11:26) - Soma Bringer | Finding the throughline
• (01:31:56) - Wrapping up

When hope is lost and humanity is on the brink of devastation, there's only one tried and true strategy to snap victory from the jaws of certain evisceration.

Discussed: Out of the Realm, being a regular: revisted, Brendon on The Besties!, Crow Country, Resident Evil, Signalis, Zero Ranger, Void Stranger, NieR: Automata, gaming on the Apple iPad, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, emulation, Monster Hunter Portable Third, PPSSPP, FTL: Faster Than Light, Civilization VI, Shogun: Total War, Rome: Total War, Total War: Medieval 2, Age of Wonder IV, this video from Game Maker's Toolkit, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, 8bitdo SN30 Pro, Apple Arcade, Orion, Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, IQ tests, 90s cartoons, Charted: Found Legacy, something in the future tehe, and dotzip.
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:02) - Talking about some stuff at the top
• (09:43) - Crow Country | You should play it
• (27:57) - Zero Ranger | Pulling the thread
• (42:19) - An iPad deep dive
• (45:55) - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep | An iPad deep dive
• (47:02) - Monster Hunter Portable 3rd | An iPad deep dive
• (48:47) - FTL: Faster Than Light | An iPad deep dive
• (50:19) - Civilization VI | An iPad deep dive
• (51:27) - Divinity: Original Sin 2 | An iPad deep dive
• (52:55) - Total War | An iPad deep dive
• (59:01) - Stardew Valley | An iPad deep dive
• (59:09) - Minecraft | An iPad deep dive
• (01:00:13) - 8bitdo SN30 Pro | An iPad deep dive
• (01:03:50) - Orion | An iPad Deep Dive
• (01:07:06) - Surprise Final Fantasy Segment
• (01:14:32) - The iPad! | It's actually more Final Fantasy heh
• (01:15:23) - Wrapping up

Ah crap, this guy comes in everyday and orders the same thing: podcasts, puzzle games, double helping of Pokémon, and Supergiant game... hey buddy! The usual? Aha yeah... death to Chronos... that never gets old...

Discussed: Being a regular, Paws and Clause, dotzip, Out of the Realm, Animal Well, Fez, The Witness, being 34, Pokémon Unbound, a Nuzlocke run 👁️, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Hades II Early Access, death to Chronos!
---
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (03:29) - A bunch of announcements!!! | Anyway, newness
• (08:36) - Animal Well | A good video game?!
• (37:50) - Pokémon Unbound | What if you could make a *harder* Pokémon game?
• (01:11:52) - Pokémon Legends Z-A | An addendum
• (01:13:13) - Trails from Zero | Big City, Prologue Kitty
• (01:34:05) - Hades II Early Access | Maybe an offramp
• (02:15:37) - Wrapping up

Welcome to Out of the Realm: Petals and Ashes! An original tabletop roleplaying game adventure written by Stephen Hilger based on the Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition ruleset!

This episode is part one in a three-part Patreon-exclusive series. To hear parts two and three head to https://patreon.com/intothecast and become a monthly supporter!

Our adventure begins in the city of Lakelight Keep, a mysterious mountain city where it is perpetually Spring. Our heroes, Artyk Bygguy (played by AJ), Izhi (played by Kim), Kailani Gladesong (played by Chase), and Mr. Hollos Cheeks (played by Brendon), have come in search of the missing children of the Eudicott family. Their journey begins in Lakelight Keep, but there's no telling where this mystery may take them.
---
Thanks to our patrons for making this episode possible! 
Support the show - https://patreon.com/intothecast

Original score by Will LaPorte - https://ghostdown.bandcamp.com/
Additional music by Brendon Bigley - https://boqeh.bandcamp.com/
Art by Scout Wilkinson - https://ko-fi.com/humblegoat
Produced and edited by AJ Fillari - https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social

Yeah yeah "Sonic the Hedgehog stole from Dragonball Z," I've heard it all before. The thing people are afraid to say is that Master Roshi stole his entire vibe from Jimmy Buffett. Think about it.

This episode is brought to you by Flight Rising! Register for free at flightrising.com.

Discussed: Life updates, Out of the Aether, Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 (the movies), the possibility of a Sonic x Dragonball AMV from early YouTube (something like this, perhaps 😉), Dragonball Z: Kakarot, Dragonball Xenoverse 2, the Trails series, Trails in the Sky, Trails from Zero, Another Crab's Treasure.
---
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:50) - Into Chicago
• (10:19) - Hard pivot | To batteries
• (11:06) - Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 (the movies) | Into Out of the Aether
• (42:11) - Break
• (44:45) - Trails from Zero | Podding around at the speed of cast
• (01:17:35) - Another Crab's Treasure | A game from THIS YEAR???
• (01:38:03) - Wrapping up

Sorry, what? You’ve seen the grenade roll downhill before? Haven’t you heard that being jaded is over? We’re past that! The grenade is ROLLING down the HILL!!

Discussed: Gamecube, Star Fox Adventures, Dexter on Showtime, Animal Crossing, Tidings from the Aether, Dragonball Z: Kakarot, the Sega Saturn, Grandia, Farcry 2, Idle Thumbs, Austin Walker's talk at the Different Games Conference 2016, a mysterious project coming sometime in the future hehe.
---
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:46) - Gamecube Prep update
• (05:07) - Animal Crossing | Better foxes
• (28:41) - Break
• (28:42) - Tidings from wildwookie05 to US
• (30:09) - Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot | Year of Second Chances and Zero Moon
• (01:11:44) - Break
• (01:11:45) - Grandia | 2024's hottest new video game franchise
• (01:32:32) - Break
• (01:32:33) - Farcry 2 | Emergent Podcasting
• (02:10:37) - Warpping up

Behold! Behold! Gaze up the resplendent curvature of Egg! Let those who dwelled here shout out in His glorious voice! Cock-a-doodle doo!

Use code AETHER20 when subscribing to Pika Pro for 20% off your first year of blogging!

Discussed: Out of the Aether, Fallout (the TV series), Fallout 4 (the video game), Fallout 3 (the video game), Noah Caldwell Gervais' "A Thorough Look at Fallout", Fallout Shelter, Idle Thumbs, Lifeline, Fallout Shelter updates, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, upcoming bonuses.
---
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:48) - Out of the Aether | Weird segue!
• (12:09) - Fallout | Talking about... Television?!
• (22:27) - Fallout 3 | I wonder if they let you shoot a gun in this one
• (01:01:48) - Break
• (01:01:49) - Fallout Shelter | More games based on this new "Fallout" TV show
• (01:28:35) - Break
• (01:28:36) - Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | I wonder if there's anything online about Sonic laying an egg or something... nah probably not
• (01:48:35) - Wrapping up

Oi bruv. Check 'is thing out. It's a "PlayDate" and that there's the crank. Go on. Give it a whirl, yeah?

Brendon's Backloggd list of PlayDate titles: https://www.backloggd.com/u/brendonbigley/list/best-of-playdate/

Discussed: The Playdate, mobile gacha games, Apple being pressured to allow emulators on the App Store, The Crank, Video Game Podtimism, games on the Playdate, Mars After Midnight, SatOlite, Celeste Classic, Bloom, Shining/Shadow Gadget, Root Bear, rougelikes, Under the Castle (listen to Podtimism!), Rendsword, cranking on the subway, Brendon's piece about Domino Drop, Pocket Pets, Recommendation Dog, The Simorgh, MDMA: Mega Dystopia Micro Architect, what makes the Playdate special, solitaire, Quandino, PlayDOOM, Seaman 2024, crank to "Honk", Lost Odyssey, Frieren the Wanderer, Dungeon Meshi, Solo Leveling, updates and announcements.
---
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---
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---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:22) - A future of infinite possibilites
• (05:45) - The Playdate | Everyone's favorite yellow square
• (39:52) - Listen to Video Game Poditimism for more Playdate talk!
• (40:31) - The Playdate | Games on the Playdate
• (40:41) - Mars After Midnight | Games on the Playdate
• (48:34) - SatOlite | Games on the Playdate
• (53:13) - Celeste (Pico8) | Games on the Playdate
• (54:01) - Bloom | Games on the Playdate
• (57:14) - Shining/Shadow Gadget | Games on the Playdate
• (01:01:31) - Root Bear | Games on the Playdate
• (01:03:43) - Roguelikes! | Games on the Playdate
• (01:06:20) - Under the Castle | Games on the Playdate
• (01:07:10) - Rendsword | Games on the Playdate
• (01:10:06) - BBs future with the Playdate
• (01:12:17) - Pocket Pets | Games on the Playdate
• (01:14:42) - Recommendation Dog | Games on the Playdate
• (01:16:22) - The Simorgh | Games on the Playdate
• (01:18:09) - MDMA: Mega Dystopia Micro Architect | Games on the Playdate
• (01:20:36) - What makes Playdate games interesting
• (01:29:56) - A wrap up fake out
• (01:35:58) - Marker 02

Join Stephen, Sadie and Kim down down down by the river as they talk about a game they have each spent at least 20 times this episode length playing!

Follow Sadie! - https://www.instagram.com/sadieposting/

Listen to NPC Incorporated! - https://www.machineculture.com/npc-incorporated

Follow Kim! - https://bsky.app/profile/ohkimmies.bsky.social

Listen to Frog of the Week! - https://frogpod.online
---
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---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Baldur's Gate 3 Main Theme by Borislav Slavov
• (00:28) - Intro
• (00:46) - Gale's here!
• (01:07) - How to begin
• (02:46) - Rolling initiative
• (03:47) - Our experiences with DnD
• (23:34) - Sharing our blorbos
• (24:52) - Sadie's PCs
• (31:51) - Kim's PCs
• (40:45) - Stephen's PCs
• (47:12) - Some extra PC chat :-)
• (48:57) - What IS Baldur's Gate 3??
• (51:18) - Twisted Force by Borislav Slavov
• (51:49) - SPOILER WARNING
• (52:37) - Getting to know the party members
• (01:08:36) - When did you get BG3-pilled
• (01:21:59) - The morality of characters
• (01:45:33) - Act 2 STINKS (a joke)
• (02:12:56) - Evil can be *interesting*????
• (02:22:09) - Kim's soapbox
• (02:27:42) - Thorm of the Year 2024
• (02:30:41) - Time to talk about Raph
• (02:36:58) - Horny Gale
• (02:42:14) - One quick note about Raphael
• (02:44:42) - We almost forgot!
• (02:49:29) - The Act 3 fireworks
• (02:54:00) - Talking about the Strange Ox
• (02:57:01) - Last Light inn Theme by Borislav Slavov
• (02:57:28) - Act 3 | Character arcs, Durge, and the finale
• (02:57:52) - Starting with Shart
• (03:11:40) - What if a vampire, but you made him snarky and hot???
• (03:23:31) - Everyone's favorite muscle mommy with a V6 in her chest
• (03:31:52) - My frog wife, Liz
• (03:44:25) - I've got a desk, a microphone, and a podcast
• (03:52:54) - Wyll Ravenguard, The Blade of the Frontiers!
• (04:05:03) - Honorable Mentions
• (04:07:12) - It's time for the Durge
• (04:28:56) - Believe it or not, there is so much more we haven't talked about
• (04:30:16) - Sing for Me by Borislav Slavov
• (04:30:51) - Welcome to our House of Hope
• (04:31:04) - From Peter | Has BG3 affected your DnD?
• (04:37:23) - From TheJerdz | Quality of life improvements?
• (04:41:05) - From Rob | Host NPCs?
• (04:43:48) - From TableOne | Rolan the GOAT?
• (04:51:19) - From TheDarkUrge | Bulldur's Shit 3
• (05:08:55) - From DMDoug | Best spinoff?
• (05:12:05) - From TubbyCustard | Smalldur's Gate 3?
• (05:14:30) - From TubbyCustard | Sourcebook DLC?
• (05:18:25) - From gmanteer | Favorite companions?
• (05:21:06) - From ian.michael.james | Do you min/max companions?
• (05:25:27) - From Emily | Favorite things to see realized?
• (05:28:49) - From _schmorgle | Session stories?
• (05:30:06) - From Chase | What's your Worm of the Brain?
• (05:35:25) - Down, down, down by the river
• (05:38:29) - Baldur's Gate 3 Main Theme by Borislav Slavov

If you're podcasting, make it about Dragon's Dogma 2.

Discussed: Dragon's Dogma 2
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:21) - This episode is about the video game Dragon's Dogma 2
• (02:05) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | How the episode is going to go
• (04:25) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | What is Dragon's Dogma and why do BB and SH like it?
• (25:45) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | The microtransactions
• (42:51) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | A game with purposeful friction
• (50:03) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | Kind of impossible not to spoil
• (50:49) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | The game that can be anything
• (02:06:51) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | Hello, Arisen
• (02:07:16) - From Jared | How to Stop Worrying and Love Dragon's Dogma?
• (02:09:47) - From tozac | How're you partying down?
• (02:13:21) - From Taras | Other RPGs Dogma?
• (02:29:09) - From MrGronkle | How to make the game more approachable?
• (02:31:25) - From fullmoonassboy68 | Dragon's Dogma B.A.D.???
• (02:36:46) - Wrapping up

It's the 1998 sensation that's still sweeping the nation.
That's right, it's a bonus episode all about Glover!

Discussed: Glover
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:
---
Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:
Grok
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This week's episode is PAXed with games, hosts, and Original Characters. 

Discussed: freesound.org, Darn Tootin, PAX East, Vampire Survivors Adventure Mode, Children of the Sun, Slice & Dice 3.0, Portrait vs Landscape mode, the Backbone, how to fiid your Miis, The Last Story, Murder by Numbers, One Shot, NOT Dragon's Dogma 2, another shot
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
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---
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (03:06) - Outro
• (04:09) - The Penny Arcade Exposition EAST 2024
• (04:21) - Vampire Survivors Adventure Mode | #wario4vampsurv2k24
• (13:09) - Children of the Sun | A much bleaker game than the title would suggest
• (23:20) - Slice & Dice | I wish I was playing this game instead of editing rn
• (31:58) - Gameboy Phone and Demos
• (42:03) - aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
• (42:50) - Into Mii Aether
• (45:06) - The Last Story | Final FantasWii
• (01:06:42) - Murder By Numbers* | *Sonic the Hedgehog
• (01:13:28) - One Shot | A game about shrimp
• (01:28:26) - Wrapping up

HELLO AND WELCOME TO INTO THE AETHER! WE'RE LIVE FROM THE MOUNTAIN DEW BOOTH, TALKING WITH SHADOWHEART ABOUT HER NEW COLLABORATION WITH THE BEVERAGE TITAN AND NINTENDO! WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXCLUSIVE SWITCH THEME?!

Discussed: How do you beat games?, Unicorn Overlord update, Balatro, Some advice for beginning Unicorn Overlord, the best and third-best selling game in Japan last week, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, RTS mean "Real Time Saturdaynightliveaudition", The Nintendo Wii and the lost art of the console menu experience, Shotgun King, Penny's Big Breakaway, The Battle for Polytopia, Civilization, I've been playing the same game of Civilization II for almost 10 years. This is the result., Can't Let It Go's "The Very Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation"
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
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Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
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---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:34) - How do you finish games?
• (04:37) - Unicorn Overlord | Monologue of a Mad Unicorn
• (33:29) - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth | Welcome back to Gaia, the land of Queen's Blood
• (58:44) - Unicorn OverLorne
• (59:39) - The Nintendo Wii Home Entertainment System | A thing that the boys did recently
• (01:03:35) - Shotgun King | BB's VGs
• (01:11:51) - Penny's Big Breakaway | Chameleon Twist with a Yo-yo
• (01:14:52) - The Battle for Polytopia | What if you knew what was going on in Civilization?
• (01:30:20) - Wrapping up

Are you a Unicorn or an Overlord? We'll tell you, but first you have to make a biblically accurate Bubsy in the character creator and then you have to buy our game. We promise you're gonna love it.

Discussed: Mar10 day, Unicorn Overlord, Tidings, Unicorn Overlord's World Map, Dragon's DoUnicorn Overlord, DraUnicorn Overlord, Dragon's Dogma 2's ChSKYRIM, Dragon's Dogma 2's Character Creator, The Worst Garbage Podcast Network!
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
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---
Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
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---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:20) - Unicorn Overlord | The Switch has NON-Mario games
• (43:50) - Tidings from Jess to Nick
• (44:12) - Tidings from Spencer to US?!
• (45:05) - Unicorn Overlord (SOME EARLY SPOILERS) | UniMOREn Overlord
• (01:23:20) - Break
• (01:24:27) - Dragon's Dogma 2 Character Creator | Welcome back, Arisen
• (01:24:47) - Unicorn Overlord | Recruiting Peter
• (01:25:00) - Dragon's Dogma 2 Character Creator | It's called Gran Soren
• (01:25:05) - Unicorn Overlord | One other thing
• (01:25:47) - Dragon's Dogma 2 Character Creator | FOR REAL THIS TIME
• (01:26:51) - Skyrim?????? | We've totally lost the plot, gang. Godspeed to you.
• (01:27:51) - Dragon's Dogma 2 Character Creator | Hopefully
• (01:54:43) - Marker 01

NEW! for your Sega Dreamcast: DCC 3. Not sure what the acronym stands for? This game ain't for you then, chump.

Discussed: DCC, That era when everything was trying to be the Wii, Tidings, Retro Bowl, The Pokemon Direct, Pokemon TCG: Pocket, Pokemon Legends ZA, Pokemon Coliseum, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
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---
Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
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---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:23) - Dorito's Crash Course | And the state of gaming
• (15:02) - Here's the deal
• (16:36) - Tidings from Douglas to DC
• (17:16) - Balatro | Video games that exist
• (45:00) - Retro Bowl | Games on your PHONE?!
• (01:01:34) - The Pokemon Direct | Games that don't exist YET
• (01:22:54) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | SPOILERS
• (02:15:09) - SPOILERS FOR ZACK'S STORY IN ALL OF FFVII
• (02:31:15) - Wrapping up

I tried to buy groceries with my sticky note coin, but they just told me I was "stealing from the office supplies section and doing bad origami".

Discussed: This week, How to Make a Coin, Airborne Kingdom, Against the Storm, Airborne Kingdom, Tidings, RPG Maker MV, Game Maker's Toolkit development series, game development, Persona 3 Portable (CONTAINS DISCUSSION OF PANDEMIC, DISSOCIATION, DEATH, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY).
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - We're still here
• (01:33) - This week on Into the Aether
• (02:16) - Airborne Kingdom | My kingdom for an airborne... kingdom...
• (11:53) - Against the Storm | Brendon's turn with the City Builder stick
• (22:01) - Airborne Kingdom | Heads or tails?
• (22:17) - Tidings for Dre from Skyler
• (23:04) - RPG Maker MV | A game ENGINE?????!!!!!
• (46:40) - DISCLAIMER: It's going to get a little heavy (CW IN THE SHOW NOTES)
• (47:16) - Persona 3 Portable
• (01:12:59) - AIrborne Kingdom | What if it was on the ground???
• (01:13:11) - Wrapping up

I don't understand! Nobody in 1885 cares that Balatro is going to be the best deckbuilding rougelike of 2024!!!!

Discussed: Andre 3000, Balatro, Break bits, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, Helldivers 2, streaming plans, fighting at the lake, the year Silksong will come out, Nintendo Switch 2, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is fine, but Nintendo remade the wrong game by Oli Welsh, Sony's future, Xbox's Nothingburger, a cliffhanger.
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (02:07) - What Andre 3000 is doing
• (02:36) - Balatro | Anyway...
• (19:10) - What happens when we're not recording
• (20:13) - Deep Rock Galactic Survivor | Christopher Thomas ROCK
• (31:01) - Helldivers 2 | Another game about shooting space bugs
• (45:19) - Streaming! | Into the Thursdays
• (51:08) - My Cool Principal
• (51:35) - The Future
• (54:18) - The Nintendo Switch 2(025)
• (56:19) - Sony's plans
• (57:52) - Xbox's Nothingburger
• (01:03:18) - Let's talk about the news!
• (01:28:51) - Wrapping up
• (01:29:24) - INTERMISSION

You either die a Hero 2: RE:BoRN - Ultimate Edition or you live long enough to see yourself unironically become "The Zune Kid".

This episode is brought to you by Andy Fisher! You can check out his music at https://andyfishermusic.com. Thanks Andy!

Discussed: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the weather, Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain, Helldivers 2, Live-service games, Persona 3: Reload, Dur's Gate
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:23) - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth | Final Fantasy Seven Two: Part Two
• (22:03) - STUFF THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS FOR REBIRTH/FFVII
• (35:21) - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth | Final Fantasy Seven Two: Part Two
• (41:47) - MORE SPOILERS FOR REBIRTH/FFVII
• (44:19) - Break
• (45:55) - Into the Small Talk
• (46:13) - Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain | Speaking of what's current
• (54:22) - Helldivers 2 | FOR DEMOCRACY!
• (01:15:09) - Persona 3: Reload | The obligatory Persona segment
• (01:55:41) - Wrapping up

Sometimes a guy comes into the cafe to yell at you because when he was in a few evenings ago "you" messed up his latte even though you weren't even working that night because you were fighting The Clairvoyant Relic on the forty-second floor of hell.

Discussed: Persona 3 Reload, Tiny Rogues, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — Dondoko Island, Taro class, Death Stranding 2
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:33) - Persona 3: Reload | An immediate segment
• (01:18:30) - Tiny Rogues | A tiny segment
• (01:25:08) - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | An infinite segment
• (01:43:16) - Wrapping up | Just kidding it's another Persona segment
• (01:44:28) - Wrapping up

Stephen and Brendon talk about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. A game about finding yourself, sacrificing for the ones you love, and Ooccoo the weird bird person who can teleport.

Thank you patrons for making these bonuses possible!

Twilight Princess Emo Icon: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6YAcHoNrU2B6VR322Y5zK9?si=372a122718474e7c
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---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (03:24) - Histories with the game and general thoughts
• (54:22) - Ordon Village Theme
• (54:48) - SPOILERS AHEAD
• (54:53) - SPOILER DISCUSSION!
• (01:37:49) - STAR Game Theme
• (01:38:17) - Some final thoughts AND THEN listener questions
• (01:50:21) - Is the beef squashed? | Dom
• (01:54:32) - Phew! Out at last!
• (01:58:30) - Derailing a little bit
• (02:00:39) - ITA <3 Ooccoo
• (02:03:00) - The themes of the game | NSR
• (02:12:39) - How does this Hyrule stack up? | Rufus
• (02:14:38) - How does this Zelda stack up? | Rufus
• (02:18:05) - Your twili-beastsona | SnoozebuttonUK
• (02:19:04) - Jumping into the Pokemon Realm | Brady
• (02:20:42) - Dungeon power rankings | Nbz
• (02:36:50) - TLoZ:TP AMV | Biscuit (Ryan)
• (02:39:34) - Favorite item? | Will
• (02:40:25) - Charming items? | Flavor
• (02:41:47) - Remake or Demake? | PokeKid Blake
• (02:45:24) - A GANON event | xtian
• (02:46:59) - Shadow Link and Ilia | Will
• (02:52:28) - Artistic homages | yolkpunk
• (02:54:10) - Thanks for your questions!
• (02:54:34) - Sense of adventure | BaconofWar
• (03:01:46) - That's a bonus episode, baby!
• (03:03:44) - Wrapping up

What're you doing reading this? Ichiban is waiting for you in Hawaii!

Discussed: Night time recording, Tekken 8, new Smash Bros. spirits in 2024, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, deciding the GOTY in January
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:21) - Bringing this up right at the top
• (02:24) - The REAL Hunk Punk
• (06:30) - Tekken 8 | A King dress-up game
• (45:59) - Tidings from the Aether
• (46:23) - From Craig to Nate | Tidings from the Aether
• (48:58) - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | The definitive BEST Yakuza game to start with (for legal reasons, this is a joke)
• (01:45:08) - Getting back to Ichiban

Yeah he just keeps asking me if I want to go with him to "the new gate that opened across town"? I mean I guess I'll go, but he better put some time into his [LOOKS] otherwise I'm dipping out early.

Discussed: No Man's Release Window, Gatepunk>Metroidvania, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Tidings, Tokimeki Memorial (Fan Dub)

TokimekiHouses dot jpeg
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:14) - No Man's Release Window
• (04:20) - A chat about genres | I promise this isn't about Prince of Persia yet lol
• (17:49) - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | Once more, with feeling!
• (52:36) - Tidings from the Aether
• (53:44) - From Lillian to Jacob | Tidings from the Aether
• (55:13) - From Garrett to Dave | Tidings from the Aether
• (58:32) - Favorite boot sound? | Tidings from the Aether
• (59:52) - Get your own Tiding at shop.intothcast.online!
• (01:00:23) - Tokimeki Memorial | What if you were back in high school and it was impossible to get anyone to like you?
• (01:07:52) - Comparing the Tokimeki and Three Houses pic
• (01:08:56) - Tokimeki Memorial | What if you were back in high school and it was impossible to get anyone to like you?
• (01:52:27) - Wrapping up

Dragon's Dogma 2? Snooze. Final Fantasy VII: REBIRTH? Nah. Persona 3 Reload? Old news. This year is for one thing and one thing only: Painstakingly typing out a 100-character code into your Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

Discussed: Ads, Pokemon Unbound, Golden Sun, Dragon's Dogma 2, The Switch 2, Jusant, This song from Ico, College, Retro Handhelds, Bully (created by Rockstar Games, creators of Austin Power's 'Oh Behave'), 2013
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:11) - Persona | Woops Brendon started a segment!
• (01:51) - Updates!
• (03:33) - GAME related updates????
• (03:37) - Pokemon Unbound | GAME related updates????
• (06:46) - Shout to Video Game Podtimism!
• (07:36) - A confession
• (09:41) - Golden Sun on the Nintendo Switch
• (15:21) - Dragon's Dogma 2 | Explaining the Sphinx
• (18:42) - Frontloading this year
• (21:10) - Jusant | Let's CLIMB
• (34:00) - ITA: The Musical
• (39:24) - A deep breath
• (40:05) - Another deep breath
• (40:26) - The Ayn Odin 2 | Brendon's talkin about retro handhelds again
• (59:02) - Bully | Wait you're telling me these things play GAMES????
• (01:27:00) - Next week!
• (01:30:28) - Wrapping up

Ha ha! Great battle kid. You sure showed me! Here's your badge... and uh, if you have some extra time do you think you could give me some notes on this manuscript I wrote? It's about love and loss on the battlefield. Pikachu says a curse word in it! 

Discussed: Pokemon Unbound, Tinyfolks, Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, Astral Ascent, Golden Sun, Dragon Warrior, Dragon Quest VI: The Realms of Revelation
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:03) - Thank you so much for listening to the Game of the Year episode!!!!
• (01:59) - Recapping GOTY updates
• (06:30) - Where Brendon's been and retro handhelds
• (14:33) - Pokemon: Unbound | Brendon played 4 games
• (53:54) - Tinyfolks | The "A" in GBA stands for "Aesthetics"
• (01:00:29) - Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim | Some Stephen lore
• (01:12:06) - An update section!
• (01:12:19) - Astral Ascent | An update section!
• (01:20:39) - Golden Sun | An update section!
• (01:33:10) - 😉
• (01:34:12) - Dragon Warrior | 😉
• (01:49:43) - Dragon Quest VI: The Realms of Revelation | The year of second chances!!!
• (01:53:26) - SPOILERS FOR Dragon Quest VI: The Realms of Revelation | The year of second chances!!!
• (02:02:46) - Dragon Quest VI: The Realms of Revelation | Being "That Person" for a piece of media
• (02:07:53) - Wrapping up

The boys are back and they're ready to give gaming another try. 2024 might just be the year that Video Games get 'em.

Discussed: The Finals, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age — Definitive Edition — 2D Mode, Life is Strange Episode 1, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, The Meta Quest 3, Asgard's Wrath 2, Tetris Effect: Connected, Pistol Whip, Resident Evil 4 VR, Virtual Reality
---
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---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:51) - Don't forget that Brendon is making chili. It will come up later.
• (01:06) - Post-GOTY Thoughts?
• (03:25) - The FIRST game of 2024 | The Finals
• (30:53) - Hællo
• (31:26) - We are so back, baby | Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age: Definitive Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2D Mode
• (48:37) - The Year of Second Chances
• (48:59) - A new stinger???
• (49:12) - A game from 2015 | Life is Strange: Episode 1
• (01:08:02) - A surprise for Brendon | Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• (01:38:22) - Vrendon Rigley | Asgard's Wrath II
• (01:58:14) - Come on. You know what we're talking about. | Resident Evil 4 VR
• (02:04:40) - Talk about a Tetris Effect, amirite? | Tetris Effect: Connected
• (02:05:12) - A direct shoutout to Jacob Geller | Pistol Whip
• (02:06:44) - The VR Sandwich
• (02:20:01) - Wrapping up

Brendon, Stephen and AJ are once again in THE SAME ROOM to talk about VIDEO GAMES. And of course, to have some lunch.

!!!SONG CREDITS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOW NOTES (BELOW CHAPTERS, ABOVE PATRONS) SCROLL AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Discussed: At least Ten (10) Video games!!!!!!!!!!!!
---
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Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:49) - Hello and how this is going to work
• (08:41) - GotOY Time!!!!
• (09:06) - Stephen's GotOYs
• (25:40) - AJ's GotOYs
• (34:47) - Brendon's GotOYs
• (49:37) - TWG Discord GotOYs
• (52:13) - ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!!!!!!!
• (01:00:46) - IT'S GOTY TIME BABY
• (01:01:03) - Acknowledging the state of the industry and talking about 2023
• (01:04:17) - It's time for the GotYs, dude
• (01:05:43) - Stephen's #10
• (01:10:28) - AJ's #10
• (01:18:38) - Brendon's #10
• (01:24:37) - Sadie's game of the year!
• (01:27:14) - Stephen's #9
• (01:31:50) - AJ's #9
• (01:36:03) - Brendon's #9
• (01:41:19) - Alanna's game of the year!
• (01:43:07) - NOT Stephen's #7
• (01:48:54) - AJ's #8
• (01:58:04) - Brendon's #8
• (02:07:02) - Matt's game of the year!
• (02:08:00) - Stephen's #7 for real
• (02:13:45) - AJ's #7
• (02:20:23) - Brendon's #7
• (02:29:20) - Christian's MODES of the year!
• (02:31:48) - Stephen's #6
• (02:38:47) - AJ's #6
• (02:44:03) - Brendon's #6
• (02:46:49) - C YA!
• (02:47:17) - Will's game of the year!
• (02:48:28) - Lunch of the year
• (02:49:22) - Yeah, I'm on the seafood diet. I SEE FOOD and I EAT IT xDDDDDD
• (02:49:42) - Stephen's #5
• (02:54:19) - AJ's #5
• (02:58:33) - Brendon's #5
• (03:05:05) - Adam;s game of the year!
• (03:07:33) - Adam's game of all time!
• (03:07:59) - Stephen's #4
• (03:15:00) - AJ's #4
• (03:19:57) - Brendon's #4
• (03:26:42) - Chase's game of the year!
• (03:30:01) - Stephen's #3
• (03:35:50) - AJ's #3
• (03:40:24) - Brendon's #3
• (03:48:02) - Kim's game of the year!
• (03:50:19) - Stephen's #2
• (03:50:28) - Stephen AND Brendon's #2
• (04:02:43) - AJ's #2
• (04:10:31) - Scout's game of the year!
• (04:12:10) - Stephen's NUMBER ONE GAME
• (04:22:04) - AJ's NUMBER ONE VIDEO GAME
• (04:33:11) - Brendon's NUMBER ONE MINESWEEPER GAME
• (04:42:23) - Recapping The Lists
• (04:43:57) - Reading Brendon and Stephen's predictions for each other
• (04:47:03) - Christopher Plante's game of the year (I guess)
• (04:49:25) - Results of the TWG Discord GotY Poll!
• (04:53:40) - Back to US (Honorable Mentions)
• (05:10:00) - Figuring out the Aether Top 5
• (05:44:27) - Testing the list
• (05:47:03) - The Into the Aether Top 5 Video Games of 2023
• (05:47:45) - Someone's game of the year!!!!!
• (05:48:37) - The ITA GOTY Post-Show
• (06:19:29) - One final BIG REVEAL
• (06:19:57) - Wrapping up

1. Thoughts of Sea of Stars, its ending, and the priorities of indie devs
2. Jacob Geller’s “The Best 10 Games of 2023”

Song credits

1. A Bit of Fun by Thomas Brunet
2. Title Theme by Studio Thumpy Puppy
3. Hinoeuma Night by Yasunori Nishiki
4. Inazawa Chainsaw by NUMBER GIRL
5. Nee Dhaane ft. Shreya Sukumar by Alpha Something
6. Main Menu (Orchestral) by Dale North
7. Suspicion by Hidenori Iwasaki
8. Trials of the Mist by Eric W. Brown
9. Far East Princess by Yeakun Yoo
10. Petal Isles by  Koji Kondo, Shiho Fujii, Sayako Doi, Chisaki Shimazu
11. Dive to the Depths by Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui
12. Shooting Range - The Drive Remake version by Kota Suzuki
13. Jusant by Guillaume Ferran
14. Raasa feat. Divya Vivek and Harish Kumar by Alpha Something
15. Herald of Darkness by Poets of the Fall (Old Gods of Asgard)
16. Catch Me! by Thomas Brunet
17. Mechanic Hub by Chi Leung
18. Not a Little Girl by Yoshiya Terayama
19. Mother Plant by Jakob Schmid
20. Gather Your Allies! by Borislav Slavov
21. Agnea's Theme by Yasunori Nishiki
22. Main Theme by Borislav Slavov
23. Now Entering: Ward 13 by Rob Westwood
24. Main Theme by Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui
25. Heatwave by Shuichi Kobori
26. Bard Dance by Barislov Slavov
27. This Road by Poe
28. Save Theme by Kota Suzuki
29. I Want to Live by Borislav Slavov

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Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:
Grok
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Mike T
Code...

Make sure to wear your poncho when seeing Watchmen the Musical on Broadway.

Discussed: Astral Ascent, God of War Ragnarok Valhalla, Golden Sun
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Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
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Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Hello!
• (05:09) - Astral Ascent
• (45:48) - H&R Block
• (48:12) - God of War Ragnarok Valhalla
• (01:10:26) - Console Talk
• (01:20:32) - On Skype
• (01:24:17) - Golden Sun
• (02:09:19) - E3 2018

What's the 'P' stand for? Podcast, of course :-)

Discussed: Lies of P, Soulslikes, Hi-Fi Rush, The Concept of the Post-Game, Subpar Pool, Toilet Games, Fortnite Festival, Fortnite: Rocket Racing, LEGO(tm) Fortnite
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Links:
The Sims 4 Celebrates For Rent Expansion With Landgraab & Son(s) Pop-Up by George Foster at The Gamer
Plagarism and You(Tube) by hbomberguy on YouTube
Investigation: How Roblox is Exploiting Young Game Developers by People Make Games on YouTube
---
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (02:52) - Quick Twilight Princess bonus announcement
• (04:28) - The elephaant in the ladderless pool
• (05:39) - The First G of the E // Lies of P
• (49:07) - A game that wasn't announced 8 years ahead of time // HiFi Rush
• (01:12:18) - Post games are The Spice of L
• (01:16:24) - Due diligence // Subpar Pool
• (01:26:58) - Games for when you're hiding in the bathroom
• (01:28:45) - Fortnite, Fortnite, and Fortnite // Fortnite
• (02:05:49) - Wrapping U