We’ve “jacked da line” with this episode of Hot Zombie Summer—this time focusing on the Resident Evil 4’s (2005) castle.

Keith and Logan make the case for why the Castle of the 8th Castellan is the best area of the game, narrating their playthrough experiences with castle sieges, double Garrador fights, madcap mine cart action, and Crash Bandicoot-style running from a giant Ramón Salazar statue. The hosts also detail vital lore-building memos, recount memorable dialogue from this section, and explain why the castle’s sewer portion actually doesn’t suck.

Other topics you won’t want to miss include:

• Keith revealing that he wasn’t aware of Shreks three through five
• Why HZS is the #1 podcast for celebrity misinformation
• What RE4 has in common with Mario Party
• Logan theorizing why Harrison Ford has never played twins in a movie
• Bashing The Lumineers
• The reason Logan and Keith aren’t GereHeads (as in Richard Gere)
• A brief discussion of Martha Stewart’s favorite catchphrase, “Aw, jeez”

**

Time Stamps:

0:00-5:14 – Introductory banter and why we’re so high on the castle

5:15-29:14 – Castle Ch. 3-1: Entering the castle, Leon says “No thanks…bro” to Salazar, Water Room fight, and Ashley getting kidnapped (again) Saturday morning cartoon-style

29:15-1:01:43 – Castle Ch. 3-2 and 3-3: Digressions about LOST and The Bear, whether or not Toad from Mario is a minor, why the hedge maze is reminiscent of The Sims, flirty fighting with Ada, and the last thing Luis Sera hears in his life is his name being mispronounced by Leon

1:01:44-1:34:55 – Castle Ch. 3-4 and 4-1: Why playing as Ashley works; lava rooms, king and queen grails, and breaking news alert memos; Las Plagas armadura fight; “Your right hand comes off?” / “Die, you worm!”; and how putting a Verdugo sticker on the fridge would have been like a video game trophy in 2005

1:34:56-1:51:42 – Castle Ch. 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4: A bizarre introduction to Jack Krauser, the castle’s underground, Dos Gigantes, clock tower enemy rush sequence, and Salazar boss fight

1:51:43-End – Wrapping up: Why speedboats were big in the 2000s, Logan recalls a body swapping story from 6th grade, and previewing the island for our next episode

**

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

This is our third of six episodes about Resident Evil 4 (2005). New episodes will be released Wednesdays—every two weeks.

Feel free to give us a like, share, or review; thanks for listening!

Resident Evil 4 + summer in the Western Hemisphere = Hot Zombie Summer is in full swing! We’re back with episode two on RE4 (2005), and this time, we’re actually talking about gameplay in this playthrough of the village.

After chatting about RE4’s initial scene setting, namely what happened to Umbrella and why Leon is in rural Spain, we talk through the major areas of the village—ranging from the first, iconic set piece to Del Lago to the end-chapter Bitores Méndez fight.

Shenanigans ensue as Keith and Logan not only praise the game’s aesthetics and more action-oriented tone but also break down why arms dealer plushies would be bad, reflect on the Shinzo Abe assassination, and examine the place of socialist wellness coordinators and infinite harpoon technology in the world of Resident Evil. Just as critically, the hosts make the case for why the ESRB should’ve rated RE4 “M for Mature” on account of smoking and giant dongs.

**

Time Stamps:

0:00-3:40 – Introduction and how Resident Evil 4 is kind of like The Fast and the Furious

3:41-25:18 – Opening cinematic and narrative; first encounter with the Ganados; RE4 control scheme; aesthetics and atmosphere of village

25:19-49:10 – Village Ch. 1-1: First set piece, casting Leonardo DiCaprio as Leon and Matt Damon as Sadler, and meeting Luis and Méndez

49:11-1:15:26 – Village Ch. 1-2 and 1-3: “What are you buying?”, Ganado hierarchies and politics, Del Lago boss fight, and RE4’s memo problem

1:15:27-1:52:59 – Village Ch. 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3: El Gigante’s Hulk jorts, rescuing Ashley, why Sadler probably turned to Kickstarter in the 2023 Remake, siege defense sequence with Luis and Ashley, and the Méndez boss fight

1:53:00-End – Wrapping up and previewing the castle for next episode

**

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

This is our second of six episodes about Resident Evil 4 (2005). New episodes will be released Wednesdays—every two weeks.

Feel free to give us a like, share, or review; thanks for listening!

It's our first episode on Resident Evil 4 and it's a doozy! We have a lot to talk about covering the development and release of the game, as well as the characters, gameplay changes, and our personal experience with this seminal action horror classic.

Time Stamps

0:00-4:25 – Intro and Personal Memories

4:25-37:56 – Development Notes and History

37:56-47:45 – Release

47:45-1:40:08 – Cast of Characters

1:40:08-end – New Mechanics

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

We'll be back in two weeks to dive into the gameplay and story of the first main area of the game, The Village.

We wrap up our discussion of Resident Evil Ø, covering the final areas of the game, the Queen Leech fight, and the bizarre ending cinema. Finally, we discuss the game's legacy and what we would like to see (or not see) in a remake.

Time Stamps

Intro and Laboratory: 0:00-15:25

The Factory/Sewer: 15:25-38:02

Leech Fun Facts: 38:02-48:39

Final Boss and Ending Cinemas: 48:39-54:35

Final Thoughts, Legacy, and Remake Talk 54:35-End

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

We'll be back in two weeks and it's a big one as we'll be starting our long form discussion on Resident Evil 4. Thanks for listening!

We are back with part 2 of Resident Evil Ø! In this episode, we dive into the first major gameplay section of the game with the Umbrella Torture,,,uhhhh,,,Training Facility, the Basement, and the Church. We also discuss our feelings on Catholicism, Deadpool vs. Wolverine, and the Magic Mike trilogy. Enjoy and check out part one here: Resident Evil Ø: “Oops! All T-Virus” | Podcast Episode on RSS.com

Time Stamps:

0:00-5:20 Intro and Latin Class

5:20-38:08 Umbrella Training Facility

38:08-1:01:05 The Basement

1:01:05-1:10:40 Escape/The Bat Fight

1:10:40-End Outro on Movies and Bumper Stickers.

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

We'll be back in two weeks with our next Resident Evil Ø podcast episode. Thanks for listening!

“This game actively pissed me off"—Logan

"I would have quit the game if not for this podcast"—Keith

Hot Zombie Summer faces its biggest challenge yet in Resident Evil Ø, the last of the Classic REs. In this first of three episodes on Capcom’s prequel title, the co-hosts narrate Zero’s complicated development cycle (shoutout to the Nintendo 64DD) and express their frustration with new gameplay mechanics: character zapping and leaving your shit all over the floor (AKA the removal of item boxes).

After going deep into the bench of REØ’s cast of characters—did you know rear security S.T.A.R.S. member Edward Dewey’s favorite hobby was dancing?—we navigate the Ecliptic Express, the iconic and inexplicably old-timey train section of the game. After our protagonists Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen escape the train, our recording ends with the first cliffhanger in HZS history.

The co-hosts also talk about number sickos, why having wings would ruin your life, and possibly going into business together by launching a brewery called #hops. Later in the episode, Logan claims he’ll get an “Emerald Fennell = Resident Evil” tattoo if this episode hits 100 downloads. And Keith not only calls James Marcus “Lindsey Graham-coded” but also suggests Billy is “Nick Cave-coded.”

**

Time Stamps:

0:00-4:06 – Introduction

4:07-14:31 – The nearly four-year development cycle of Resident Evil Ø

14:32-46:05 – The gang’s all here: Rebecca Chambers, Billy Coen, and the rest of REØ’s cast of characters

46:06-58:06 – The New Mechanics (not The New Pornographers) of Zero

58:07-1:11:11 – Waxing nostalgic about the Nintendo GameCube’s start-up sound, REØ’s opening cinematics and narrative, and the nü metal aesthetics of the game

1:11:12-1:45:00 – The Train: Meeting Billy, Leech Queen Marcus singing in the rain, giant scorpion boss fight, train puzzles (and dreams), and doing drunk math to pull the e-brake

1:45:01-End – Wrap-up, reflecting on what we’ve played so far, and outro

**

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

We'll be back in two weeks with our next Resident Evil Ø podcast episode. Thanks for listening!

Episode two on Resident Evil (2002) is here.

We complete the second half of REmake by traversing the residence, revisiting the Spencer mansion, and making our way through much-improved tunnels and laboratory. In our conclusion, we send the game off by chatting about its commercial reception, legacy, and whether or not the original should (will?) be remade for current consoles.

As you listen, don’t miss Keith asking if Henry Winkler is relevant enough to have a pre-prepared obituary in the New York Times—or Logan’s introduction of a new potential Halloween costume idea in Jesse “The Gymnast” Ventura.

More relevant to RE, the co-hosts spend nearly five whole minutes talking about whether or not the head of the blown-up Tyrant from the original Resident Evil: Director’s Cut was bouncing around and still talking after you rocket launcher him to smithereens in the finale (this is not in the REmake). The co-hosts additionally pose the question, “Do sharks conduct electricity better than humans?“

**

Time Stamps:

0:00-4:05 – Cold open + intro

4:06-28:02 – The Residence: Lisa Trevor’s shack, the Guardhouse, and the Aqua Ring.

28:03-40:12 – Return to the Spencer Mansion, “Should The Predator fight his dad?”

40:13-1:24:38 – Endgame: Tunnels, laboratory, and retcons / revisions in the ending (ft. Wesker exclaiming “Premature!”)

1:24:39-1:45:47 – Reviews, sales, and reflecting on the legacy of the REmake

1:45:48-End – Outro and post-episode banter

**

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

To see the video commercial for the REmake audio we played, go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af7QJU2g14I.

In two weeks, we'll be back with our first episode on Resident Evil Zero. It's going to be....something.

Thanks for listening!

We’re very excited to debut our first of two episodes on Resident Evil (2002) AKA REmake—arguably the best RE ever released.

After discussing the development of the game, diving into Capcom’s controversial deal to make the Resident Evil franchise exclusive to the Nintendo GameCube, we highlight major changes from PS1’s original Resident Evil: Director’s Cut. In particular, we spend some time talking about the Trevors: George, Jessica, and Lisa, as well as why Crimson Heads are so terrifying.

While we don’t play through REmake beat by beat in our 95-minute runtime, we make it through the Spencer Mansion in this episode before leaving off en route to Lisa’s Shack and the Residence.

Other topics and questions include:

• Whether or not XBOX is the console of choice for ICE agents;
• Why everyone likely remembers where they were when Capcom’s Resident Evil, Gamecube-exclusive deal was announced;
• The origins of the phrase “Hoisted by one’s own petard”;
• What it’d be like if the first episode of House Hunters featured Lisa Trevor’s cabin;
• Is vaping postmodern?; and
• How Tommy Wiseau managed to finance The Room (hint: it involves Umbrella)

**

Time Stamps:

0:00-20:44 – Intro, sixth-generation console politics, and the development of REMake for the Gamecube.

20:45-53:22 – Changes from the Resident Evil (1996): Narrative, dialogue, characters, gameplay, and controls

53:23-1:25:15 – Title screen, opening cinematic, and revisiting the Spencer Mansion—new areas, tasks, and all (graveyard, death masks, dog whistle and fishing lure puzzles)

1:25:15-End – Post-episode banter: Nosferatu and Dracula, Nicholas Hoult, Yorgos Lanthimos, and debating One Battle After Another

**

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

Our look back at Resident Evil (2002) is a two-parter; new episodes will be released Wednesdays—every two weeks—so tune in soon for our wrap-up on REmake.

Thanks for listening!

We are back for the final of four episodes discussing the good, the bad, and the Wesker of Resident Evil Code: Veronica X.

In this episode we mostly play as Chris and complete the story portion of Code: Veronica. We finish up by discussing the reception and legacy of the game, and if we think we've seen the last of one Steve Burnside. We also talk about Chris-Hangers, The Walking Dead, Cool Water Busting Moments, and Dessert Anxiety.

Time Stamps

Intro 0:00-7:06

Chris at Rockfort 7:06-29:46

Chris in Antarctica 29:46-56:58

Antarctica Mansion and Finding Claire 56:58-1:02:10

Playing as Claire 1:02:10-1:09:46

Endgame 1:09:46-1:30:27

Legacy 1:30:27-1:40:47

Best/Worst 1:40:47-1:49:02

Remake Speculation and wrap-up 1:49:02-End

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

This is our final episode on Code Veronica. New episodes will be released Wednesdays—every two weeks.

Thanks for listening!

We are back for the third of four episodes discussing the good, the bad, and the dissociative of Resident Evil Code: Veronica X.

In this episode we finish up the Claire Redfield portion of the campaign by going through the Private Residence, the Airport, and the Umbrella Antarctica Base. We also debut (and retire) a new segment: Antarctic Fun Facts. We also discuss puppets, Phantom Thread, crime, and compliment the Tyrant's flight etiquette.

Time Stamps

Intro 0:00-4:15

Private Residence 4:15-26:03

The Airport 26:03-33:00

The Plane Ride 33:00-47:45

Antarctic Fun Facts 47:45-1:00:25

Antarctica Base 1:00:25-1:21:39

The Final Escape? 1:21:39-End

Shoutout to Alex Aniel, whose book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, we consulted during this podcast. Another shoutout to Michael Everette Hensley, the composer of our podcast theme music.

This is our third of four (!) episodes on Code Veronica. New episodes will be released Wednesdays—every two weeks.

Thanks for listening!