Flow State

By Matt Horton

A show about the games we get lost in... more

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FAQs about Flow State:

How many episodes does Flow State have?

The podcast currently has 38 episodes available.

Flow State episodes:

February 18, 20262025 was a weird year for games...
It was a weird year for video games, but here's my favorite moments among the mess.
(00:00) - - It was a weird year...
(01:01) - - and Roger
(01:48) - - Extra: Persona 4 Golden
(03:00) - - Dispatch
(05:15) - - The Séance of Blake Manor
(06:11) - - Unfair Flips
(07:20) - - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
(08:54) - - Extra: Octopath Traveler 2
(09:56) - - Fretless
(11:13) - - Fighting Games
(13:36) - - Q-Up
(14:45) - - Known Mysteries
(16:47) - - Citizen Sleeper 2
(19:19) - - The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy

Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton
dotzip's and Roger episode - https://share.transistor.fm/s/570f6f40
Brendon on YouTube - ‪@itswavelengths‬
Stephen on YouTube - ‪@MemoryCardManuscript‬
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23min
February 18, 2026It's time to admit it. Demonschool is disappointing.
After 14.5 hours of Demonschool, it’s time to admit that I’m disappointed.
(00:00) - - Demonschool is disappointing
(01:14) - - Demonschool's original sin
(02:45) - - A game that does it better
(03:22) - - It's not just expectation

Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton
Demonschool on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/19...
...more
6min
February 18, 2026THIS is how you make a detective game
(00:00) - - The Séance of Blake Manor
(01:26) - - Irish AF
(02:14) - - Deduction in Blake Manor
(03:09) - - The art

Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton
The Séance of Blake Manor on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/13...
It's two days before Halloween, and Declan Ward has been invited to Blake Manor to investigate the disappearance of a woman named Evelyn Deane. She and a number of guests are at the manor ahead of the Grand Séance, an attempt to speak directly to a spirit rather than through a medium. As the player, we navigate Ward through Blake Manor to solve the mystery of Miss Deane's disappearance, yes, but also to discover smaller, personal mysteries.
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5min
February 18, 2026The Hottest Game Mechanic of 2025 🪙
The hottest game mechanic of 2025 is... coin flipping.
(00:00) - - Flip a coin with me
(02:19) - - Number goes up
(12:11) - - The concept of 20%
(14:41) - - The "ladder"
(17:57) - - "Meme games"
(19:27) - - Commenting on humanity with a coin
(22:39) - - Committing to the eSports bit
(26:21) - - Simultaneous invention

To watch the developer interviews, subscribe monthly at https://ko-fi.com/matthorton
Unfair Flips on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/39...
Q-UP on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/37...
Music from the original soundtracks of Q-UP and Cobalt Core
At this point you’re probably aware of the game, Unfair Flips, where you flip a coin with the single goal of getting 10 heads in a row. Northernlion has played it. I’ve already made a Short about the game. The game has reached a meme status that often leads to financial success for these smaller, simpler games.
And in the latest Steam Next Fest, a demo for another coin flipping game has come out. Q-UP is a completely different take on flipping a coin, as impossible as that sounds. Where Unfair Flips is stripped down to only the slightest amount of mechanic on top of the basic probability of a coin flip, Q-UP puts that simple game of chance into the context of eSports. This is a video game that straight up looks like Apex Legends or Overwatch or Marvel Rivals. You have seen a video game UI that looks like this. The design is Fortnite maximalist, including a shop, messages from the developers, a carousel of fake news hits about the game, and even daily challenges. You can actually, really queue up with your friends for coin flipping matches. It is a tongue-in-cheek take on eSports that actually does have an interesting game within it, even if the coin flips themselves are completely random.
These games are wildly different takes on a goofy idea, and the distance between those takes leads to thematic differences that I find really interesting. Yes. The two games where you flip coins both have things they’re trying to say. I promise.
...more
28min
September 24, 2025Losing Control in Consume Me
Consume Me is an auto-biographical story of a young girl and the untenable pressures she feels to be a success, whatever that means. It is serious, but it is goofy. The game has sad moments, but it’s not somber. Far more often, it’s really funny, chronicling Jenny’s young adulthood through a series of WarioWare-style mini-games. They are chaotic and funny and messed up in all the ways that real life can often be.
(00:00) - - A goofy game about real stuff
(02:19) - - Consume Me's big mechanic
(04:22) - - What even is this game?
(06:03) - - It starts out fun...
(08:42) - - The breaking point
(12:46) - - The broken ways we seek control
(16:08) - - Consume Me is extremely well-made

Consume Me releases Sep 25, 2025: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359120/Consume_Me/
Music in the video is by Ken "coda" Snyder, including some music from Consume Me
Support my work at https://ko-fi.com/matthorton
Read more at https://matthorton.live
...more
18min
August 26, 2025It's A Miracle Fretless Got Made
Subscribe to Flow State: https://youtube.com/@flowstatecrit
(00:00) - - Fretless has a magic
(01:41) - - What is Fretless?
(02:42) - - Getting QTEs just right
(09:15) - - The musical theme of Fretless
(16:27) - - The game is great! And that's it.
(19:32) - - Fretless almost didn't get made

There’s a magic in the game feel of Fretless, and it’s immediately noticeable. Quick-time events in battle form the foundation of this game's incredible game feel. The wild thing, is that despite being a musical RPG from the very beginning of development about 8 years ago, these quick time events weren’t present until about a year before its release. This is a game that had so many chances to fail or be something much lesser. But the team at Ritual Studios were relentless, and they’ve made something special.
Fretless on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429050/Fretless__The_Wrath_of_Riffson/
Support my work at ko-fi.com/MattHorton
Read more of my writing at https://MattHorton.live
...more
26min
August 05, 2025The Puzzle Game Where a Minotaur Starts a Union
Hoard's LLC: Limited Labyrinth Corporation is a block puzzle game about a minotaur who wants to unionize his workplace, a corporate dungeon. I sat down with Cephalopod Ink, the developer of Hoard's LLC, to learn just what kind of team makes a game like that.
(00:00) - - NO BENEFITS
(02:09) - - Meet Cephalopod Ink
(06:10) - - A corporate dungeon???
(07:47) - - The inspiration for the game
(08:59) - - The games industry is a nightmare for workers
(11:23) - - Cephalopod's experience with unions
(15:43) - - Scoping down to find success
(19:13) - - Keeping it light
(21:56) - - The art is great!
(23:23) - - How do you market a game like Hoard's LLC?
(25:54) - - Can games actually make change?
(27:28) - - How will Cephalopod Ink be better?
(31:21) - - They said the name of the show

Support my work at ko-fi.com/MattHorton
Read more of my writing at https://MattHorton.live
Listen to my podcast at https://cantletitgo.gay
Listen to Lex's podcast - The Legend of Podcast: Trails Through Trails - https://trailspod.transistor.fm/
...more
32min
June 10, 2025 Finished Expedition 33? Play these next.
Expedition 33 is just one of many great turn-based RPGs released in the last 10 years. Here's a bunch of RPGs that you should play when you're finished with Clair Obscur.
0:00 - JRPGs never died
2:12 - Turn-based RPGs are killing it
4:25 - High-fidelity 3D graphics
6:11 - Art Direction
7:21 - World Maps
8:23 - Combat
11:02 - Characters & Social Sim
13:11 - A Message
14:56 - Turn-based RPGs aren't ancient history
Find me elswhere:
Support my work at ko-fi.com/MattHorton
Read more of my writing at https://MattHorton.live
Listen to my podcast at https://cantletitgo.gay
My video on the end of Expedition 33 https://youtu.be/J_gfIx5VIqY?si=bv2Uvhpjpp_uK5tC
Lex's podcast!!!
The Legend of Podcast: Trails Through Trails - https://trailspod.transistor.fm/
Credits
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https://youtu.be/p00EF6_b5pI?si=rl5eCMgy3MqMHQi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i87Bk7OqAUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8azSzG-Fls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkm1I7ngQb0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCuaejfDvR0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-6Aa3_86Lo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVLEPdSX8DY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6daXBKYT6N4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asf4DmuukZA
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEo9rB4WmCM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV5rIW1Qums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsdxLwqUH6g
https://youtu.be/LUNL-Pey7BU?si=00AE5Gf1r6vtchsQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raWYLdIqy5A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Wj5bpID80
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPcwMFWZksQ
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https://youtu.be/ADaRsEhTB70?si=p_GKjqgqUDcswLwf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dwFNq06bQk
https://youtu.be/pKRvc2HADUw?si=lR_ymsDfzwlrup0J
https://youtu.be/lgmLN1NHXyE?si=Xlk-u4Gbyxlmn-C1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmi8KrntszI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVbqM_O2kcI
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KES40VdEtQg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVP_nCK0tXU
https://youtu.be/jjiyzoII06I?si=8bS0E2shLrS7O9zf
https://youtu.be/7lM8fVR_oZw?si=l45fTQsf7eXp78Ty
https://youtu.be/srvV0riIgXU?si=Qe-DWMTlZRlsb3Qi
https://youtu.be/iNwMvTVPq2E?si=HlZ1fYaCdRzxmiF4
https://youtu.be/Vofkw9-O18c?si=gzQ_ZGqawbwgIbcL
https://youtu.be/iEGniXc7Xtc?si=eh_t4hodQFix3UtZ
https://youtu.be/-1LDIPBWjtU?si=pp_KiOifoEejX2VJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORpKwkq5z-4
https://youtu.be/qFs8-qGaoHU?si=Vj3TRiyLFQmkOFgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyprCbJwWsE
https://youtu.be/Woz3mS9Ao5k?si=sJGQru1pFn8iMg7z
https://youtu.be/yvSWRg_oPyw?si=nAKsR0Voifbny0JB
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17min
June 10, 2025 Expedition 33 is so much better than its ending
We've GOT to talk about the ending of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and why it's the worst part of an incredible video game
0:00 - Spoilers ahead
0:09 - The speech
0:52 - Expedition 33 is beautiful
1:18 - The endings
2:45 - We just need consistency
That sick edit by @monners5910 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bd3Zgf964k
Thanks to my writing partner, Lex, and to my friend Jason for coming up with this video's punch line in our Discord DMs.
...more
4min
March 10, 2025 Wanderstop isn't cozy. It's a chore.
I don't recommend Wanderstop.
Find the video of this episode at https://youtu.be/MXGSgWCv90Y
Find the written version of this episode at https://MattHorton.live
0:00 - How you make tea in Wanderstop
1:37 - Not just another "cozy" game
4:02 - I'm reminded of Indika
4:54 - Why tea?
...more
7min

FAQs about Flow State:

How many episodes does Flow State have?

The podcast currently has 38 episodes available.