Bad End

Latest Episodes:

The Decade in Indie, ft. Emily Rose Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

Indie games have come a long way from their roots as a way to spite Roger Ebert (kidding!), and we've teamed up with rebind.io founder Emily Rose (@caravanmalice) to discuss the decade in indie, from "AA" hits to powerful "micro-indies." We explore the impact of influencers, the birth/death/resurrection of indie game journalism, the importance of platform, the "indie game" image problem - and talk about what's next.

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underexplored. Tweet us @superculturenet

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by Seiho

Check out our merch on the merch tab at the top of our site: badendpodcast.com
Follow BAD END Videos at the SUPERCULTURE YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/superculturevideo
Support us on Patreon to join us live and gain discord access: https://www.patreon.com/badend

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin, Matthew Slaybaugh, Eliza Tantivy, and Joshua Jarvis for donating at the Bad End Patron tier and above! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Pokemon Sword & Shield, Death Stranding, Half-Life: Alyx Nov 28, 2019

Show notes

A new Pokemon game is out, so we're asking the question that everyone asks when a new Pokemon game comes out: Is it the Pokemon game I've always dreamed about? We also discuss the weird lack of hype surrounding Half-Life: Alyx, which when you think about it, should be the most hyped game of the decade. Finally, we wrap our conversation on Death Stranding with since we kinda zoomed through that thing.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

8:56 - Death Stranding

26:22 - Half-Life: Alyx

38:36 - Pokemon Sword & Shield

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Death Stranding, Blizzcon, Air, Land & Sea, Remembering Apple Arcade Nov 14, 2019

Show notes

It's here. The new Kojima game. Death Stranding. Secure your cargo straps, crack open your Monster Energies, slap that blood bag, and come along as we delve deep into this ~generational phenomenon~ of a game.

Then we've got a grab bag - the new Hearthstone game mode and how terrible we are for playing it, some snazzy new board games, Guitar Hero vs. Real Guitar, and the rapid downfall of Apple Arcade.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

1:17 - Death Stranding

41:06 - Air, Land & Sea

46:56 - CardLine

51:25 - Blizzcon, Hearthstone Battlegrounds

58:12 - Playin' some guitar, differences between real activities and activities in games

1:14:45 - Remember Apple Arcade?

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho

Break music is 3 31 from the Persona 3 OST

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Disco Elysium, Outer Worlds, Modern Warfare, Qube 2 Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

Outer Worlds. Modern Warfare. Disco Elysium. It's Big Game season, folks, and this week we've got some of the heaviest hitters of the year. Listen to us talk about why Disco Elysium is awesome, why Outer Worlds is the videogame equivalent of a limp pool noodle, and why Modern Warfare is at least a 7.5.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

1:45 - Outer Worlds

25:00 - Qube 2

35:53 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

49:25 - Disco Elysium

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho

Break music is 3 31 from the Persona 3 OST

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Hearthstone controversy, food vs. videogame crit with Soleil Ho, MTG:A, What the Golf Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

This week, BAD END is joined by a special guest - San Francisco Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho (@hooleil). As a fellow gamer, Soleil talks to us about the parallels between food and videogame consumption and criticism, her love for Harvest Moon, and the importance of evaluating games and food in their social contexts. After that, we discuss the international controversy surrounding Hearthsone, and a potential new chapter for "gamer activism." Finally, we talk about MTG:A, What the Golf, Bleak Sword, and WACCA - a frontrunner for rhythm game of the year.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

2:08 - Food, videogames, taste, subjectivity, and political objects
20:28 - Soleil's gaming history, Harvest Moon, Breath of the Wild
27:25 - Food "fandom" vs. gaming fandom
37:43 - Hearthstone and the Hong Kong controversy, thinking about games politically
59:54 - Magic The Gathering Arena1:04:37 - What the Golf?1:09:06 - Bleak Sword
1:16:15 - WACCA (year's best rhythm game?)

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho
Break music is 3 31 from the Persona 3 OST

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Untitled Goose Game, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Destiny, Bloodstained, Eliza, What the Golf Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

Usually we have a few games to play between episodes of BAD END, but this week we had more than 50 thrust upon us with the launch of Apple Arcade. We talk about some of the highlights, like the rhythmless rhythm game Sayonara Wild Hearts and the hilarious What the Golf. We're also talkin' Goose Game, Bloodstained, Apex, and Destiny.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

1:10 - Backlogs, what's up with those?
6:24 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
14:37 - Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, new Apex Legends map
30:55 - Untitled Goose Game
49:35 - Eliza
58:09 - Hot Lava
1:00:44 - Exit the Gungeon
1:05:35 - Overland
1:09:30 - Void Bastards
1:13:25 - Sayonara Wild Hearts
1:22:02 - What the Golf
1:29:22 - Jenny Leclue

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho
Break music is 3 31 from the Persona 3 OST

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Gears 5, Overland, Borderlands 3, Creature in the Well, PAX, Apple Arcade Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

So there’s a bunch of new games coming out and we’re doing our best to play them all, but sometimes you don’t have time to tack a Borderlands 3 onto your massive game log. That being said, we’re playing the crap out of Overland, Creature in the Well, and Gears 5 (sorta). We also talk about Apple Arcade, Disco Elysium hype, board game store ecosystems, PAX-as-gamer-Phish, and more.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

0:55 - PAX and the Nerd Ecosystem
21:00 - Gears 5
30:54 - Borderlands 3, nof*p, and Hype-as-product
44:46 - Creature in the Well
56:57 - Overland
1:10:45 - Disco Elysium
1:15:47 - Apple Arcade

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Control, Telling Lies, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey Sep 05, 2019

Show notes

It's Bad End 55, and this episode we're talking about Control, the new game from Remedy that's incredible - but with a few caveats we can't quite get over. Then we discuss Telling Lies, that new FMV joint from Sam Barlow (Her Story) - a game whose main character might be a little too good at acting pissed off. Finally, Caty goes deep on Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. Y'know, the game where you play as apes trying to evolve into humans.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

2:02 - Control
36:55 - Telling Lies
59:35 - Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
1:12:04 - Wilmot's Warehouse

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Dragon Quest Builders 2, Project Winter, MTG. ft. Cameron Kunzelman Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

This week, we're joined by videogame critic/journalist Cameron Kunzelman of Vice Games, Paste, and Kotaku (among many others). We pick apart Dragon Quest Builders 2 and the still-beating heart of crafting games, the 8-person multiplayer game Project Winter, and the lizard-brain capitalist appeal of card games. From there, we take a deep dive into cloud gaming and the future of online digital storefronts. Find Cameron on Twitter @ckunzelman.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

2:18 - What's up with freelance game journalism, Cameron?
7:38 - PUBG
9:53 - Project Winter
12:53 - Dragon Quest Builders 2
27:30 - Hearthstone, MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh, Keyforge and the Soul of CCGs
47:00 - Talking to normal people about videogames, the schism between "hardcore" and everything else, the potential of cloud gaming
1:18:15 - The new age of gaming platforms

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Feat. Mike Rugnetta: Fire Emblem Three Houses, Oxygen Not Included, Ooblets controversy Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

WHAT is UP everyone it's Bad End podcast episode 53, this time featuring the academically-minded internet personality Mike Rugnetta (@mikerugnetta on Twitter). You might know him from PBS Idea Channel, Reasonably Sound, or as a producer behind the Longreads Podcast and CrashCourse. We talk about the new Fire Emblem game, tabletop gaming as artistic medium, the Ooblets controversy, and whether videogames have the power to expose us to new viewpoints.

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and shout out to Wesley Martin and Alyse Stanley for donating at the Bad End Patron tier! Become a contributor at patreon.com/badend

7:41 - Outer Wilds and the appeal of the "time loop" trend in games
22:08 - Tabletop gaming
41:21 - Forza 4 Horizon
50:15 - Fire Emblem: Three Houses
57:22 - Oxygen Not Included
1:07:53 - The Ooblets Controversy
1:40:20 - Can a videogame introduce you to new ways of thinking?

Intro/Outro music is TABOO by Seiho
Break music is 3 31 from the Persona 3 OST

BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet

Intro/Outro music is "TABOO" by SEIHO

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected