Thanks to Yacht Club Games for the early review code! Kevin got to play all of Mina the Hollower, and is able to give an early preview of his thoughts before his final review in a few weeks. We know you've been very curious to hear how this game is turning out, so tune in for his impressions! Also, we apologize for what we do to the word "composer" at the end of this episode.

Check out the game here:
https://www.yachtclubgames.com/games/mina-the-hollower

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SHOW NOTES
Here is the Bloomberg article that we reference:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-02/creator-of-hit-game-shovel-knight-is-at-make-or-break-moment

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Cassandra: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoldenBolt
Nicco: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl56kbl3tb-KiGEHT7MUGUg

Much like how everything is crab, everything in games seems to increasingly be 'Pick 3'...well, not EVERYTHING, but it sure is becoming prevalent. You level up, 3 options appear, you pick 1, and then play for another minute until you have to pick 3 again. When it's great, it's fantastic, but as it becomes more pervasive will the charm wear off?

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SHOW NOTES
Here's a free post on our Patreon of us checking out The Spell Brigade, an online co-op Survivors game:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/checking-out-157909409

Some of the games mentioned...

The Pick 3 Slop Website:
https://pick3slop.com/

Gambonanza (they sent us a code, but just linking this because it's a weird name to blind-Google):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3509230/Gambonanza/

Dungeon Clawler (also sent us a code, for disclosure):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2356780/Dungeon_Clawler/

HUNTERxHUNTER NEWxSURVIVOR:
https://hunterhunter-ns.bushimo.jp/en/

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Brody: https://www.youtube.com/@RACROX
Cassandra: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Nicco: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl56kbl3tb-KiGEHT7MUGUg

CHAPTERS
00:00 Discord Nitro 3 month is pick 3
05:19 The morphing of the roguelite genre
14:27 Slay the Spire 2, too much game, not enough card
22:01 "Throw it against the wall and hope it sticks" design
29:14 Chris realizes that this entire subgenre is all just Hades
35:13 The synergies absolve all 
47:34 Should there be a "try all the cool stuff" room?
55:46 Favorite scene from a bad piece of media? (Urkman1)

An enemy having a surprise second health bar IS like being gifted a plant...right?

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TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Brody: https://www.youtube.com/@RACROX
Cassandra: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Nicco: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl56kbl3tb-KiGEHT7MUGUg

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Vampire Crawlers Situation Is Crazy
10:24 The George Saros check-in
17:57 The struggle when a sequel is just slightly too different
25:19 Nicco equates surprise health bars to being gifted a plant (gone right?)

This is sort of a Part 2 to our Saros/Akimbot episode, find that prior to this episode in your audio feed. It's a bit of a meander today but we promise it's interesting.

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TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Brody: https://www.youtube.com/@RACROX
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoldenBolt

CHAPTERS
00:00 (Continuing from the Akimbot bonus episode)
04:16 Sometimes there's no replacement for the genuine article
13:27 Flailing at capturing a feeling born from bygone limitation
17:40 inSANE, inFAMOUS people and the way they game
27:33 Someday the Jak II torture will end, with bonus GTA V slander
34:24 Back to the artificial emptiness in games
38:48 SPYRO *IS* THE WRONG SHADE OF PURPLE!!!
42:16 Anyway, worst gas station food we've had? (Urkman1)
47:37 The Chester's Chicken situation is crazy

Have a little bonus "what we've been playing" from the other week, since you've been such good crub listeners lately. 

MORE PLACES TO FIND US
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SHOW NOTES
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2416450/MOUSE_PI_For_Hire/

Voidling Bound:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2004680/Voidling_Bound/

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Cassandra: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy
Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoldenBolt
Nicco: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl56kbl3tb-KiGEHT7MUGUg
Sean: https://www.youtube.com/@Wolfkaosaun

CHAPTERS
00:00 Mouse piss
08:56 Mouse of pi
12:01 Voidling Bound to be the "oh yeah, that game" game
18:49 Nicco's Tomodachi Life
24:23 Sean has been playing like 37 games
28:40 Bloodborne movie finally acknowledged
32:21 One of us read something that isn't video game text

DISCLOSURE: Kevin (The Golden Bolt) received an advance copy of Saros from PlayStation

There are many spiritual successors to video games. Some are intentional homages, such as Akimbot, and others unintentionally capture specific essences and remind us of something we love. Saros reminds us why we love Ratchet & Clank. Akimbot...does not.

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TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Brody: https://www.youtube.com/@RACROX
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoldenBolt

We're, somehow, a year and change away from seeing the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation hardware. The Steam Machine and Steam Frame are lurking in a nebulous "may release in 2026" limbo. There's an ocean of Android handhelds releasing seemingly weekly. So...are we too old to really be excited by any of this? What could really get us hyped?

MORE PLACES TO FIND US
Crubscribe ► https://bit.ly/Crubcast
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Join our Discord ► https://crub.org/join
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Come join our Steam group ► https://steamcommunity.com/groups/crubclub
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TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Cassandra: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Justin: https://www.youtube.com/@WorldFamousJtart9
Sean: https://www.youtube.com/@Wolfkaosaun

CHAPTERS
00:00 Please be excited
05:56 So what COULD get us hyped?
13:39 New control methods and portability
21:32 We're excited for the Steam Frame, actually!
26:34 New consoles are probably more exciting for younger gamers
32:35 Shoutout to the Playdate
37:37 Remembering the Kinect in 2026
45:51 Ordering food from video games
52:01 Our HOT TAKE on AI!!!! (TK_Hubworld's question)

Three of our crubbers played 2027's Expanse game a year early.  Does this early sample show enough promise for the full game live up to its lofty Mass Effect aspirations?

MORE PLACES TO FIND US
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Podcasts are available on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms are available at ► https://crub.org

SHOW NOTES
You can find The Expanse game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3727390/The_Expanse_Osiris_Reborn/

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Justin: https://www.youtube.com/@WorldFamousJtart9
Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoldenBolt
Moriarty: https://www.youtube.com/@reallycool

We went into our topic fridge and pulled out a bunch of leftovers to make a roulette of random topics. We cover a LOT of random things! Games we pity, games we dropped, expectations versus reality of becoming YouTubers, LEGO...you name it!

MORE PLACES TO FIND US
Crubscribe ► https://bit.ly/Crubcast
Get the show early and get exclusive content at our Patreon ► https://www.patreon.com/crub
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SHOW NOTES
Digseum:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3361470/Digseum/

Emily is Away:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/417860/Emily_is_Away/

Impossible Creatures:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/324680/Impossible_Creatures_Steam_Edition/

Our Metroid Prime 4 spoilercast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvugoJplMhA

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Kevin: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGoldenBolt
Moriarty: https://www.youtube.com/@reallycool
Sean: https://www.youtube.com/@Wolfkaosaun

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to the roulette...
01:17 Do plot holes matter?
06:38 Which of us could aura farm the best?
10:39 Our expectations of becoming YouTubers versus reality
19:48 Games we struggled to get into (and why)
27:46 Hidden Gems?!
33:19 Mods in games...good? Bad? In the middle?
38:40 Dual protagonist games
51:07 Most memorable video game bosses
54:11 Games we pity, and the lightning in a bottle of dev environments
1:05:35 Best/worst games to make LEGO sets out of?

cinema is so back

MORE PLACES TO FIND US
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Come join our Steam group ► https://steamcommunity.com/groups/crubclub
Podcasts are available on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms are available at ► https://crub.org

SHOW NOTES

TODAY'S CRUBCAST HOSTS
Cassandra: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatTravGuy
Chris: https://www.youtube.com/@MykonosFan
Justin: https://www.youtube.com/@WorldFamousJtart9
Sean: https://www.youtube.com/@Wolfkaosaun