Yoom-taah! To kick off season 4 of the podcast, we choose you: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team! Joined again by our expert guest on the sub-genre with Helen, we revisit nostalgia and fresh experiences for a 20+ year old spinoff roguelike…lite…game? Hopefully the listeners don’t also brand us as fugitives, focing us to traverse the Great Canyon of JRPG menu systems to the high peaks of Friendship Mountain, while eating jelly bean-based IQ boosters we find on the dirty ground. Can we overcome Team Meanies’ quest for world domination? Can we find our lost sense of gratitude in the depths of murky caverns? Were we the true meanies after all? Time to take charge of our destiny and find out!

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3:03 - Game stats

5:59 - One sentence description

6:56 - Is PMD a roguelike?

12:20 - Our experiences with Pokemon growing up

23:00 - Gameplay mechanics

36:40 - The personality quiz

44:30 - Saving Caterpie, Thunderwave Cave, Mt Steel

49:00 - Friend areas

52:00 - Team ACT, the dream, Team Meanies, Silent Chasm, Mt Thunder

1:11:15 - The Ninetales legend, Gengar’s muckraking, the hunt begins!

1:16:58 - Mt Blaze, Frosty Forest, Mt Freeze

1:24:00 - Return to town

1:27:50 - Magma Cavern, Sky Tower

1:41:50 - Postgame content

1:55:55 - Rankings & final thoughts

2:07:37 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Monster Train 2

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Pokemon Theme Saxy Style - The 8-Bit Big Band featuring Grace Kelly and Leo P

Outro music: Blue Rescue Team OST - Sky Tower

If the weather outside is frightful, then curl up in front of the fireplace with your favorite roguelike gaming podcast! That’s how the song goes, right? Well in order to find those new favorite permadeath games, Scott travelled back in time to August for the Penny Arcade Expo in downtown Seattle. With only one day’s worth of ticket time this year, we had to cram as much into one recording as possible before familial duties took precedence. Check the timestamps below for interviews with friends of all sorts and their games and studios!

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3:09 - Live on the streets!

6:10 - Jacob from Better Publishing showcasing Don’t Wake the Beast, Void Dungeon, and Order Automatica

11:07 - Holly, Jack, and Quinn showcasing White Knuckle

16:58 - Hasban showcasing Rogue Eclipse

21:28 - Andrea and Bob showcasing Arcane Eats

30:12 - Shiv showcasing Pax Autocratica

35:12 - Special message from the Roguepod Litecast! and a note about Master of Piece

42:04 - Pax Panel Q&A with the folks from Being and Older Content Creator Doesn’t Have to Suck

47:24 - Risk of Rain 2 Tournament, Swap Meat

49:56 - Show wind down

Next episode: Season 4 kicks off with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Recue Team!

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Barbara Dennerlein - Let It Snow

Outro music: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team OST - Title Theme

Season 3 concludes with some of the heaveist hitter games we’ve ever covered for the podcast! From titans of tradtitional roguelikes like Path of Achra and Caves of Qud, to titans of real-time explosiveness like Noita and Hades, this is sure to be an Omegabowl for the ages. We have a great array of listener letters, co-host bickering, and wacky coin flips to make sure everyone is as equally mad as possible. So fire up those spacetime vortices and pray you don’t run out of footsteps before reaching Room 46 of the end of year recap tournament!

Our finalists include:

Blue Prince

Caves of Qud

Deadzone: Rogue

Elden Ring Nightreign

Hades

Halls of Torment

Hero’s Hour

Noita

Path of Achra

Rift Wizard

Spiritfall

The King is Watching

There can be only ONE to hoist the Trophy of Yendor!

! The full tournament bracket with spoiled results can be found here

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0:50 - Intro

3:04 - Tournament plan, categories, and games

10:02 - Wildcard 1: Halls of Torment vs Rift Wizard

20:21 - Wildcard 2: Elden Ring Nightreign vs Hero’s Hour

33:44 - Wildcard 3: Spiritfall vs Deadzone: Rogue

46:14 - Wildcard 4: The King is Watching vs Path of Achra

53:10 - Division 1: Caves of Qud vs ???

1:02:58 - Division 2: Blue Prince vs ???

1:13:19 - Division 3: Hades vs ???

1:15:50 - Division 4: Noita vs ???

1:21:36 - Semi-finals 1

1:28:58 - Semi-finals 2

1:39:08 - Grand finals

1:59:56 - Show wind down

Next episode: Roguelike developer interviews from PAX West 2025!

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: John Williams - Wide Reciever

Outro music: Craig Hamilton - Onward (Kitfox recording)

The agony and terror of season 3 of the podcast comes to a close with the Survivor-like, Diablo-lite game Halls of Torment! Hear the demonic horns and twisted drums that lay down the epic background music, feast your eyes on the gorgeous low poly, highly pixelated 90’s inspired spritework! Collect those soul stones, find the artifacts and items from the demonic lord’s hallowed halls and see firsthand the horrors of greed!

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1:29 - Game stats

3:07 - One sentence description

06:48 - Comparison to Vampire Survivors

10:05 - Difficulty progression & enemy density

15:42 - Character classes & abilities overview

22:18 - Quest system & progression mechanics

29:03 - Item system & build variety

35:47 - Boss fights & challenge mechanics

42:31 - Movement mechanics & gameplay strategy

49:15 - Accessibility & difficulty options debate

55:58 - Art style praise & technical performance

1:02:44 - Endgame content & replayability

1:27:24 - Rankings & final thoughts

1:36:39 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Omegabowl 3

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Cyrus Chestnut - Precious Lord

Outro music: Halls of Torment OST - Chambers of Dissonance

Stay a while and listen! The sanctity of this podcast has been fouled as we turn back the clock to cover the 1997 groundbreaking procedural action RPG: Diablo. From humble origins as an Angband clone, to global standardbearer for game design polish, this titan of the horror genre greets us with a few haunting guitar chords and a cathedral of the damned. Join our descent into terror as we encounter vegetable hating butchers, skeleton kings, multiplayer friends running ahead and leaving us behind, sultry winged demons, poorly-aged game mechanics, and many more devlish delights! Perhaps there you will find answers. Or perhaps, salvation!

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2:35 - Game stats

5:44 - One sentence description

07:17 - Original turn-based design & real-time conversion

10:04 - Berlin interpretation & roguelike elements debate

19:48 - Character classes overview (Warrior, Rogue, Sorcerer)

29:35 - Town mechanics & NPC interactions

39:21 - Dungeon structure & difficulty progression

49:08 - Loot system & item identification mechanics

58:54 - Combat feel & clicking gameplay

1:08:40 - Multiplayer experience

1:18:27 - Soundtrack praise & atmosphere creation

1:28:13 - Hellfire expansion & cut content discussion

1:38:32 - Rankings & final thoughts

1:52:02 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Halls of Torment

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Nat Adderley Jr. - Old Devil Moon

Outro music: Diablo OST - Tristram

O Glorious Shekhinah! To conclude our two-part special on Caves of Qud, we turn our focus from the epic storyline to the deep gameplay mechanics and systems from the Salt Dunes of the west to the Deep Jungle in the east. Join us for a water ritual on how to negotiate with camel merchants before we clone them, managing our reputation with fuedal fungal lords, and how to navigate the differences between mutated humans, psychic warriors, and just straight-up cyborgs. Get those schematics ready as we disassemble one of the densest and deepest “traditional” “roguelike” games out there.

You can find the in depth tutorial series we did with BigSimple to learn this massive game here!

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3:44 - Game stats

7:47 - One sentence description

08:09 - Gamma World tabletop RPG comparison

10:08 - Initial bouncing off & polish improvements

14:23 - Tutorial mode & learning curve discussion

19:31 - Character creation & mutation systems

24:48 - Story structure & main quest overview

29:17 - Death mechanics & permadeath options

34:52 - Open world exploration & procedural generation

40:15 - Village generation & faction systems

45:38 - Combat mechanics & weapon variety

51:22 - Skill tree & ability customization

56:47 - Water economy & trade systems

1:02:08 - Equipment & artifact identification

1:07:45 - Mutation system depth & combinations

1:13:31 - Enemy variety & creature encounters

1:19:03 - Interface improvements & accessibility features

1:24:38 - Save system exploits discussion

1:30:15 - Community & modding ecosystem

1:35:52 - Writing quality & atmospheric storytelling

1:41:27 - Endgame content & difficulty scaling

2:07:27 - Rankings & final thoughts

2:25:15 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Diablo

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Caves of Qud OST - Soundscape I

Outro music: Caves of Qud OST - Onward Romantique / Live and Drink

Live and Drink! In this extra-special two-part episode, we first examine the deep story, lore, and soundrack to Caves of Qud. Winner of the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work, as well as the 2025 Independent Games Festival for Excellence in Narrative, it only made sense for us to break this absolutely massive game out into two parts. We are also joined by special guest and Qud streamer BigSimple! Listen in as we set the stage via the incredible soundtrack brought to us by Craig Hamilton. While there will be heavy spoilers up to a certain point (don’t worry, the ending is safe), simply hearing the story can’t prepare you for experiencing it first hand. Part 2 will be the usual GROGPOD format, focusing more on the gameplay and systems in Caves of Qud, and also back to our closer to 90 minute length. Until then, strap into that ejector seat and get ready to inject some Eater’s nectar!

Find the soundtrack on Steam here

You can find the in depth tutorial series we did with BigSimple to learn this massive game here!

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00:00 - Pilgrim’s Path (guest intro, title screen)

11:11 - Mehmet’s Morning (Joppa, Resheph, the gyre plagues, the signal)

26:30 - Overworld (Meeting the Barathrumites)

37:30 - Golgotha (First dungeon)

47:30 - Stoic Porridge (Acceptance into the order, the Baetyl)

56:40 - Lazarus (Bethesda Susa, the trolls, Saad Amus the Sky-Bear, Temple of The Rock)

1:12:30 - Onward (Ezra, Mayor Haddas, Sixshrew, Yla Haj, Zothom the Penitent, Rebekah’s grave, the Earl of Omonporch)

1:26:11 - Imminent II (Ereskigal the sentient computer, the Putus Templar)

1:33:10 - Attack on Grit Gate (Qud tower defense, NPC permadeath)

1:40:40 - Barathrum’s Study (Leader of the order, the mystery of the signal, the Spindle)

1:44:00 - Substrate (Rainbow Wood, scroll bound by a strand of kelp, Pax Klanq, Barathrum’s gamble)

1:59:34 - Among the Tomb of the Eaters (Qud crypts)

2:09:10 - Deeper Eaters (Sultan crypts, Resheph’s sarcophogus, Herododicus, entombment)

2:16:12 - Attenuated Signals, Fractals (Brightsheol, Rainwater Shomer, the Seraph’s dream, the golem)

2:23:20 - Moonstair (Eyn Roj, Ayog-No-Longer)

2:36:10 - Arrival of the Official Party (Final battle with Putus Templar, Girsh Nephilim, ascension)

2:49:10 - Similar stories

2:54:23 - Arrival (Part 1 wind down, preview for part 2)

Next episode: Caves of Qud Part 2: Gameplay and Mechanics

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Caves of Qud OST - Pilgrim’s Path

Outro music: Caves of Qud OST - Arrival

The Age of Men is over. The Time of the Orc has come! The long-lived and highly rated franchise of Orcs Must Die! comes to the rogue world for the first time with its 2025 release of Deathtrap. A game OMD players have waited 4 years to see a sequel finally arrives featuring 4-player co-op maze-building character-quipping action. Join the team of sassy teen #1, wrench arm boy, sassy teen #2, murderous cat, and big lovable bear man to stop the Orcs from getting into those precious portal for… reasons… Look, the special brownies are right over there, just one more mission and they’ll finally kick in, okay?

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1:42 - Game stats

2:43 - One sentence description

4:08 - Game release history & series background discussion

9:27 - Tower defense meets action gameplay hybrid explanation

15:42 - Tutorial experience & new player onboarding critique

22:18 - Trap variety & strategic placement mechanics

28:35 - Hero abilities & character progression systems

35:47 - Multiplayer coordination & Co-op gameplay experiences

42:13 - Map design quality & replayability concerns

49:26 - Difficulty scaling & enemy variety analysis

1:03:18 - Comparison to previous Orcs Must Die games

1:09:36 - Rankings & final thoughts

1:24:40 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Caves of Qud part 1: soundtrack and story

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Marcus Miller - Trip Trap

Outro music: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap OST - Order Wisdom

Get in the zone! This week is a game with one wild journey from starting out as Starsiege: Tribes-themed extraction shooter to an original roguelite experience - it’s Deadzone: Rogue, of course! Awaken on a ship to shoot through piles of robots and uncover the mysteries that an unhinged space program influencer billionaire promises folks who sign up for a Mars cruise. What dangers might we face? Or NOT face? Maybe we are all just brains in a vat, if you think about it. Actually… you don’t want to think about it. You’d rather try to find some matcha on this ship instead. What you do you mean there’s no matcha on board? Oh that’s a big drill you have there…

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1:21 - Game stats

2:55 - One sentence description

4:47 - Tribes universe connection & extraction shooter origins

13:05 - Pivot from Star Siege to roguelike format

18:55 - First impressions & new player experience criticism

21:16 - Weapon choices, perks, & augment systems discussion

28:12 - Meta progression concerns & upgrade system critique

34:29 - Difficulty options & enemy health scaling problems

38:56 - Enemy AI behavior complaints & tactical shooter debate

53:10 - Protagonist voice acting & narrative setup

56:42 - Act One story reveal: brain in exoskeleton

1:08:01 - Act Three body horror & final boss fight

1:14:50 - Ending choice: self-destruct or escape decision

1:26:42 - Rankings & final thoughts

1:38:40 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Alexa Tarantino - My Ship

Outro music: Deadzone Rogue OST - Luggage Tag

Zyzz up! This week we eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate all sorts of fantasy monsters in huge army blobs with Hero’s Hour! A hobby project by a Danish psychologist, we look deep into the psyche of tutorialization, 4X games as roguelikes, battles rivaling the Pelennor Fields, and cute horsies. Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered! And your capital will be taken over in 5 turns by a wizard on a pony!

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1:28 - Game stats

3:35 - One sentence description

8:09 - Roguelike classification debate & 4X game genre discussion

15:08 - Tutorial experience criticism & new player onboarding

22:17 - Combat mechanics & auto-battler system explanation

25:22 - Dominant strategies & bodyguard champion meta

33:27 - Puzzle solving nature & replayability concerns

40:44 - Hero recruitment & army management strategies

48:14 - Faction variety & DLC content discussion

53:35 - Developer interview about missing campaign mode

58:12 - Art style & music quality appreciation

1:01:50 - Rankings & final thoughts

1:10:04 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Deadzone: Rogue

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Wes Montgomery - A Day In The Life

Outro music: Hero’s Hour OST - Decay