Castle Couch Podcast

Castle Couch Podcast

By Castle CouchVideo Games
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Castle Couch Podcast episodes

  • Game of the Year 2015: Walking as Device Award

    We’ve talked an enormous amount about walking in games this year. A lot of games have been frantically criticized for how they handle walking, like The Order: 1886 or Beyond Eyes, but really this award is sort’ve a Gone Home-spirit award, or best walking simulator category. We’re talking about osmosis of plot through movement. Enjoy!

    Runners-upCradle
    “You unravel the mystery yourself [by] poking and prodding.”
    — Raphael
    SOMA
    “Every step can fill you with absolute terror, [just] inching forward can be very very scary.”
    — Andrew
    Sunset
    “What has moved and what hasn’t moved tells as much of a story as narration.”
    — Andrew
    “Sunset plays with obstacles in the environment to force you through paths ... creating different relations to the space you move through”
    — Raphael
    The Beginner's Guide
    “It’s level design as an aesthetic ... all about exploring and seeing how weird and personal everything is.”
    — Olivier
    *drum roll* And the winner is...Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
    “Uses first-person perspective so that you are constantly framing your own cinematography ... everytime you stop moving you’re composing a perfect image.”
    — Raphael
    “A contemplative act of wandering around.”
    — Olivier
    “You walk down a path, over a bridge, and you see a shooting star... It’s gotta be Rapture”
    — Anna

    Walking as Device Award nominees

    Cradle
    Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (winner)
    SOMA
    Sunset
    The Beginner's Guide

    Thanks for listening! Don't forget to check out the 'canon' page. 

    Support Castle Couch (thank you!)

    Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

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  • Game of the Year 2015: Best Comedy Award

    A bit more boilerplate as far as categories go, but we wanted to talk about the year’s great comedies. And no, *we* can't win the award. Enjoy our discussion!

    Runners-upPlug & Play
    “About plugging things and then when you plug’em together they start to play ... probably sex. ”
    — Raphael
    Quiplash
    “I can have my humour. You can use yours. We can all have fun together!”
    — Olivier
    “Wow. That is game mechanics, that is hilarious, it’s increadibly well done. ”
    — Raphael
    Undertale
    “Filled with warm, endearing dad jokes”
    — Andrew
    “So loveably comedic all the time”
    — Raphael
    Westerado: Double Barrelled
    “Great free-form world where you can make the jokes you want.”
    — Olivier
    *drum roll* And the winner is...
    “The game that had me laughing out loud the most in recent memory”
    — Andrew

    Best Comedy Award

    Plug & Play
    Quiplash
    Tales from the Borderlands (winner)
    Undertale
    Westerado: Double Barrelled

    Thanks for listening! Don't forget to check out the 'canon' page. 

    Support Castle Couch (thank you)
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  • Game of the Year 2015: Mechanics as Metaphor Award

    Mechanics as metaphor is the concept that a game’s literal gameplay systems can help explore or emphasize a theme or story beat in a game. Enjoy the podcast!

    Runners-upBloodborne
    “In tune with Lovecraftian horror”
    — Raphael
    Helldivers
    “You shoot your friend. It’s going to be messy. You’re going to feel the stress going up.”
    — Olivier
    Stick Shift
    “I finished multiple times”
    — Andrew
    “Spoilers!”
    — Olivier
    Sunset
    “If the date is a waste of time, then that’s the psyche of the character you’re playing”
    — Raphael
    *drum roll* And the winner is...Plug & Play
    “Because it does not have a consistent mechanic, you’re always trying crazy things, and the game always gives you surprising results.”
    — Andrew
    “Very subliminal”
    — Anna
    “It sounds so stupid, but it captures ideas in a faction of a second.”
    — Raphael

    Mechanics as Metaphor Award nominees

    Bloodborne
    Helldivers
    Plug & Play (winner)
    Stick Shift
    Sunset

    Thanks for listening! Don't forget to check out the 'canon' page. 

    Support Castle Couch (thank you)

    Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

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  • 075: The Castle Couch Holiday Sweater Send-Off
    11:15 - The Game Awards 22:20 - Just Cause 3 31:40 - Little Alchemy 34:25 - Beyond Good and Evil HD 36:35 - Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist 40:05 - Emily Is Away 41:35 - Disney Infinity 3.0 43:30 - ScreamrideA direct link to the iTunes page. We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at [email protected] Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.com DONATE TO CASTLE COUCH Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.
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  • 074: ​High Density Sleeping Apparatus
    13:25 - Yo-Kai Watch 16:30 - Cradle 18:20 - Dropsy 22:30 - Rise of the Tomb Raider 23:25 - Fallout 4 24:30 - Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Games 27:05 - The Beginner's Guide 28:40 - Grow Home 31:50 - Knight Squad 34:20 - Bloodborne: The Old Hunters 37:45 - Tales from the Borderlands 39:55 - Spy Chameleon 42:10 - Everybody's Gone to the Rapture 44:30 - Sunset 47:10 - Turbo PugA direct link to the iTunes page. We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at [email protected] Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.com DONATE TO CASTLE COUCH Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.
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  • 073: Tunnel Snake Antagonists
    34:10 - Plug & Play 35:45 - Fallout 4 38:20 - Rise of the Tomb Raider 45:30 - Undertale 50:20 - Yo-Kai Watch 58:35 - Bad Blood 65:30 - Puzzle Craft 2 70:20 - Discussion: LinkleA direct link to the iTunes page. We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at [email protected] Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.com DONATE TO CASTLE COUCH Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.
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  • 072: Fragmentation Grenade Bugfixes
    Fragmentation Grenade Bugfixes 13:50 - Yoshi's Wooly World 15:20 - Undertale 19:25 - FFXIV: Heavensward Update 3.1 22:40 - Rise of the Tomb Raider 28:30 - Tales from the Borderlands Episode 3 29:40 - NXOE: New Xbox One Experience 33:05 - Cradle 37:00 - Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China 40:40 - Fallout 4A direct link to the iTunes page. We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at [email protected] Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.com DONATE TO CASTLE COUCH Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.
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  • 071: Skateboarding Seniors: The Danny DeVito Story
    11:35 - Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 16:20 - Mini Metro 21:05 - Rise of the Tomb Raider 24:40 - Halo 5: Guardians 27:35 - Yoshi's Wooly World 34:45 - UndertaleA direct link to the iTunes page. We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at [email protected] Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.com DONATE TO CASTLE COUCH Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.
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  • 070: ​The Meaning of Life... Is Strange (Nov.1, 2015)
    11:40 - Xbox One Elite Controller 20:20 - Cibele 32:10 - Assassin's Creed Syndicate 39:35 - The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes 44:20 - The Beginner's Guide 54:30 - Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister 55:10 - Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge 57:25 - Halo 5: Guardians 67:00 - Mystery Game: Tell Tale's Minecraft Story Mode Episode 1 74:25 - Spoiler Alert: Life is Strange RoundtableA direct link to the iTunes page. We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at [email protected] Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.com DONATE TO CASTLE COUCH Please consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.
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About Castle Couch Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Castle Couch is a Montreal-based criticism and opinion focused videogame website formed in 2013. Our goal is to poke, prod, caress, and otherwise stir essays and conversation about games. Games have…