To make a podcast about video games, you have to play them. Lol. Join us for a conversation about the future of Berries & Blades and the new types of content we want to explore.

In this episode, we announce a change to our release schedule. For 18 months, we've published a new episode every two weeks without skipping a beat. However, in that process, we also missed out on a lot of time for gaming, so we're looking for ways to balance the time spent podcasting vs. the time we spend gaming. Another big reason for a change is to explore new kinds of content creation, and since the beginning of the podcast (actually, since before), we've wanted to create video content. So, in the future, we're hoping to make videos for YouTube, stream games together on Twitch, and hopefully increase the quality of our podcast episodes along the way! Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you stick around to see what happens. Oh, we also talk about a few games in the episode!

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

311's Tiny Desk Concert, fake Deadpool & Wolverine trailers, and Steve Goggins? Join us for another mashup of outtakes, hijinks, and other shenanigans.

In this episode, we take you behind the scenes for a collection of audio clips that didn't make it into episodes 31–39. Mostly, these clips are a little too off-topic to include in regular conversations, so we're featuring them in this episode to celebrate our foolishness. Taylor nails his impersonation of Doug "SA" Martinez from 311, Willie admits to playing Creed cover songs in high school, and Joseph emphasizes that he doesn't pay $60 for a game to send a bunch of emails in it. Also, Taylor's a copper, traffic stopper, a pill popper. "I did it by myself!" 

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

Ninjas don't hug. BO55man69 is one of the worst passwords ever, and how do people sit down in the OASIS? Join us for a conversation about Ready Player One, a Sci-Fi Action film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Ernest Cline's best-selling novel.

In this episode, we explore some of the pop culture references and nostalgia of Ready Player One. They crammed a lot of fan favorites into this film—everything from Battletoads, Mortal Kombat, and Halo—to Back to the Future, The Iron Giant, and The Shining. In 2045, the world is harsh, and most of humanity spends their days in an immersive virtual universe. In short, there's a competition to find three keys that lead to a golden egg. Find the egg and win complete control of the OASIS. Naturally, we got a little side-tracked by some of the details, like the omnidirectional treadmill Wade uses as a part of his gaming rig. Taylor treads a little too close to our reality with the thought of "big corpo" enslaving us to pay off our debts, and Willie thinks this film gets lost somewhere in the middle of the pack. Joseph thinks—is it more enjoyable than GAMER? Yes. Is it more fun than the original Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter? Nope, lol. (Enter 80s rock music)  

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

Outlaws, Dragons, and finally—there's an Assassin's Creed game that looks exciting to us. A lot is happening in 2024, so join us to recap some of the games we've played this year and discuss other games we're still looking forward to. 

In this episode, we follow up on everything we mentioned in episode 26—Games We Want to Play in 2024. A lot happened in the first half of the year, and we were excited to see showcases by Microsoft, Playstation, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and Summer Games Fest. Willie gives his thoughts on Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Taylor reveals which game he's looking forward to more between Star Wars: Outlaws and Black Myth: Wukong, and Joseph makes a case for why he thinks we should run across Mandalorians in Star Wars: Outlaws. But, before all of this, we get side-tracked by an article on The Verge about how difficult ELDEN RING: Shadow of the Erdtree is. Also, console gaming is > than PC gaming...WHAT, FOO!

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

What would happen if Bethesda made a Soulslike? Taylor thinks this game would be the outcome. Join us for a conversation about a dark fantasy action RPG called Lords of the Fallen.

Welcome back to Hip Fire, a mini-series where we share our first impressions about a game after 5–10 hours of gameplay. In this episode, we cross into the realm of the dead (Umbral) to talk about a third-person action RPG called Lords of the Fallen. We didn't play long enough to become immersed in the main story, but your mission as fabled Dark Crusaders is to embark on an epic quest to overthrow Adyr, the demon god. Joseph thought the combat was decent, and Willie had trouble enjoying this game so close to the release of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and Taylor was impressed by some of the enemy designs. Overall, we thought the Umbral Lamp mechanic was the most original concept in the game, but the game still has a lot of bugs to iron out—even  EIGHT MONTHS after its release. If you enjoy playing soulslike games and have a subscription to Game Pass, it might be for you. But be careful around that asshole red-colored grim reaper because he'll steal your lunch, call you a dork, and shove it down the back of your pants.

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

The Land of Shadow is closing in, but why did Miquella go there? Is he still trying to give his half-brother, Godwyn the Golden—a "true" death? Join us for a conversation about the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Story Trailer.

In this episode, we do our best to decipher the latest story trailer for the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree. WARNING: SPOILER ALERT. Like everyone else, we have so many questions about where FromSoftware is going with the story and lore of Elden Ring. Joseph and Willie speculate on everything mentioned in the trailer and what it means for the Tarnished, the Erdtree, and the Lands Between. Taylor does his best to get caught up with everything happening, lol. Will we find the Kindling Maiden's body in the Land of Shadow? Is she Messmer's sister? Did he kill her? Did Queen Marika (and the other Numen) sail to the Land of Shadow by ship? Did Mohg steal Miquella's cocoon to prevent him from using his unalloyed gold needle on the Erdtree? Regardless, we can't wait to square off against Messmer the Impaler and get our asses kicked.

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

Living up to your trashiest self, mantis shrimp, and a punk ass tax-collecting load shark. Join us for a conversation about a crabby "shucking" soulslike called Another Crab's Treasure.

In this episode, we explore the "cod damn" Sands Between with our trusty fork and face off against WAY too many crabs—including some not-so-clawsome snipers who just DON"T miss. As Kril, the hermit crab, you wear the trash around you as shells to withstand attacks and embark on an epic treasure hunt to buy back your repossessed shell. Surprisingly, this game has a lot going on—the combat is a little clumsy, but it's filled with original ideas and a unique and colorful take on a tried and true formula for soulslike games. In some aspects, this game is a complete "ship show," but we still think it's worth $30 if you don't have Game Pass. Give it a shot, at least, until the Shadow of the Erdtree comes out.

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

Did you know Sega made a Die Hard Beat 'Em Up-style arcade? Anyway, join us for a conversation about three gameplay features and their origins.

In this episode, Willie takes us down memory lane, and we explore the first appearances of three gameplay features—the ability to slow down time (aka bullet time), free-flow combat, and quick-time events. Of course, we couldn't have this conversation without mentioning games like Enter the Matrix, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Dragon's Lair. Stick around until the end because Willie talks about the original first-person shooter game—it involves NASA and MIT, and it's way older than you think. Also, "After the eyes flash on the screen, shoot."  

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

Enjoy the taste of Freedom with a fresh cup of Liber-TEA. ENLIST TODAY! Join us for a conversation about HELLDIVERS 2, a gritty, propaganda-filled third-person squad-based shooter. 

In this episode, we join the front line as "peacekeepers" to defend our Super Earth-born rights in a galactic war. In HELLDIVERS 2, you step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty, and Managed Democracy. We all agree this game is fantastic—like, the best co-op game of 2024 so far. It's a lot of fun to play with up to four friends or go at it solo and get destroyed. Joseph talks through how to call in and use Stratagems, Taylor shows respect for the weapon selection and physics, and Williie explains the in-game currency and the upgrade systems. Seriously. This game is worth $40 if you enjoy playing team-based third-person shooters. Everything in this game wants you dead. So, do you have what it takes to become a hero? BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SUPER EARTH
MINISTRY OF TRUTH.

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com

Let's dodge some zombie bites, go sightseeing in HELL-A, and slay our way through hordes of mutated wretches. Join us for a conversation about a first-person, over-the-top zombie slayer called Dead Island 2.

Welcome back to Hip Fire, a mini-series where we share our first impressions about a game after 5–10 hours of gameplay. In this episode, we discuss our co-op experience with Dead Island 2. This game is brutal and disgusting in all the right ways. It features a procedurally generated dismemberment system called FLESH that allows players to break bones and internal organs and destroy anything in their way. We dive into the diverse weapon sets, talk about the character selection screen, and Willie reveals which 70s rock band he can't stand. Joseph and Taylor break down the shortcomings of the game's dash mechanic, and we read a few reviews from Metacritic. Overall, we think Dead Island 2 is a lot of fun to play with friends and 100% worth trying out if you have a subscription to Game Pass.

Here's the full transcript for this episode.

If you like what you hear, the best way to support us is to tell people about the show. Please consider subscribing wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

You can also keep us going with coffee refills on Ko-Fi.

Follow @BerriesAndBlades on IG for in-game photography, video clips, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow BerriesAndBlades on Twitch for D&D and video game streams. 

The music you hear on the podcast is by ELFL, Lexica, and Christian Nanzell.

berriesandblades.simplecast.com