New year, new me, new ...games? The HLTB podcast hosts ring in the new year with everything we've left in 2025 and what we're bringing into 2026. In addition, we recount all the old childhood games we've tested out as adults and debut a whole new Guess the Game: The Collection Game.

Listen in as we discuss those games that are just not easy no matter how old you are, learn how our childhood imaginations created games that don't actually exist, franchises that took us on a ride, and technical issues that left old games never to be replayed again.

HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠

Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk⁠

Email - ⁠[email protected]⁠

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:11 - Intro

00:01:28 - Beaten

00:39:24 - Retired

00:53:56 - Playing

01:46:29 - Discussion

02:29:40 - Guess the Game

02:42:03 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Diallo: Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2), Tokimeki Memorial (Switch), Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Mega Dimension (Switch 2), Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PC)

Lia: Rainbows Are Carnivores, Apollo 2, Shapeshit, Stickshift, Hurt Me Plenty, Succulent, Rinse & Repeat, Where’s the Beef, Logjam, Hard Lads, Cobra Club, That Lonesome Valley, Wordle, Murdle, Demos (The Art of Reflection, B.I.R.D., ServiceIT: You Can Do IT, Aviarium, Gecko Gods, Backpack Battles, Tiny House Simulator), Red Dead Online, Elder Scrolls Online, Funko Fusion, God of War (2018), Good Authority

Matt: Puyo Puyo Tetris (PC), Sonic Racing CrossWorlds (PC), Christmas Celebration Escape (PC), Christmas Massacre (PC), Magic The Gathering Arena (PC), Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival (PC), SleepTown (Mobile), Crypt of the Necrodancer: Amplified (PC), Wordle (PC), Parallel Experiment (PC), Tokimeki Memorial: Taisen Puzzle-Dama (PC)

Roy: Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch), Wordle (PC), Madden NEXT 12 (PS2), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch), Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch), Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC)

As the year draws closer to STAGE COMPLETE, the HLTB Pod hosts gathered one last time in 2025 to discuss everything video and games, especially the elusive freebie known as gifted games. What holidays and event do get them for as well as memorable gift and moments. Who finished off their gifted games too fast and who let their gifts gets dusty?

HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠

Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk⁠

Email - ⁠[email protected]⁠

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:11 - Intro

00:01:13 - Beaten

00:26:21 - Retired

00:33:56 - Playing

01:30:39 - Discussion

02:13:02 - Guess the Game

02:24:40 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Lia: Arrows (Mobile), Drop the Cat (Mobile), Wordle (Discord), Murdle (Browser), Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe (PC/Mac), Tori Note (Mobile), Travel Frog (Mobile), Professor Layton and the Last Specter/Spectre’s Call (DS), Quetzal (Mobile), Logic Puzzles (Mobile), Funko Fusion (PS4)

Matt: The Beginner’s Guide (PC), Worms 2 (PC), Shady Lewd Kart (PC), Isopod: A Webbed Spin-off (PC), Magic The Gathering Arena (PC/Mobile), Puyo Puyo Tetris (PC), Pigeon Simulator (PC), Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival (PC), Sonic Racing CrossWorlds (PC), Worms: Revolution (PC)

Diallo: Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch 2) Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2)

Roy: Wordle (PC), Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (Switch), Shin Megami Tensen V: Vengeance (Switch), Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch), Fire Emblem: Cerulean Crescent (PC/GBA)

Some games, like the timeless masterpiece that is Tetris, are eternally replayable. So in this episode the hosts discuss if and when they replay games, remember moments when a return to a game changed their experience significantly, and chat about what games entice them to revisit in the future.

Furthermore expect discussions about exciting topics like rainbow waffles, first person pooper games, and emulating fast food restaurant toys!

Also: Support your local library!

HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠

Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk⁠

Email - ⁠[email protected]⁠

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:57 - Beaten

00:13:31 - Retired

00:21:23 - Playing

01:11:47 - Discussing Replays

01:49:33 - Guess the Game

01:57:13 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Diallo: Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Lia: Wordle Clones (Browser), Yum Yum Cookstar (Switch),Wordle (Discord), Murdle (Browser), Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe (PC/Mac), Tori Note (Mobile), Travel Frog (Mobile), Professor Layton and the Last Specter/Spectre’s Call (DS), Quetzal (Mobile), Spice World (PS1), Arrows (Mobile), Logic Puzzles (Mobile), Drop the Cat (Mobile)Matt: It Takes A War (PC), Shady Lewd Kart (PC), Pigeon Simulator (PC), Isopod (PC), Magic The Gathering Arena (PC), Puyo Puyo Tetris (PC), Rubik’s Connected (Mobile)

Roy: McDonald’s Sonic Speedway (LCD/PC), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch), Summon Night: Swordcraft Story (GBA), Wordle (PC), New Super Mario Bros. U. Deluxe (Switch), Bowser’s Fury (Switch), Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA/Switch), Super Mario Advance 3: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (GBA/Switch), Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA/Switch), Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (Switch), Tabletop Simulator (PC)

As Americans prepare to stuff their faces this Thursday, your trusty hosts turn their attention to the world of cooking and crafting in video games! We hope you brought your appetite, because our Thanksgiving dinner features Sonic blue curry, haunted pickles, the world’s worst mac and cheese, and of course, wall chicken in lieu of the traditional turkey! Need to tune out your drunken uncle? Listen to our (only slightly more coherent) ramblings instead!

HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠

Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk⁠

Email - ⁠[email protected]⁠

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:17 - Beaten

00:45:25 - Retired

00:46:20 - Playing

01:36:24 - Discussion

02:21:18 - Guess the Game

02:28:53 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Diallo: to a T (PC), Once Upon a Katamari (PC), Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch 2), Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch 2)

Lia: Arrows (Mobile), EnigmBox (Mobile), Logic Puzzles (Mobile), Quetzal (Mobile), Wordle and Wordle Clones (Wordle, Moxle, Heardle, Beadle, 1D Heardle) (Browser), Murdle (Browser), Travel Frog (Mobile), Tori Note (Mobile)

Matt: Whispering Willows (PC), Hatsune Miku VR (PC), COVID-19 by Hot Slice (PC), Moorhuhn VR Blast (PC), Sonic Adventure 2 (PC), Dino Crisis (PC), Shady Lewd Kart (PC), Phasmophobia (PC), Magic The Gathering Arena (PC), Rubik's Connected (Mobile)

Roy: Wordle (PC), League of Legends (PC), MLB 11: The Show (PS2), Tabletop Simulator (PC)

Get ready for another edition of everyone's favorite podcast! This time we're discussing ROM Hacks and Fan Games and finding out which freakish fan hacks have a special place in our hearts.

Stream along as Lia becomes a billionaire, Matt chases Justin Bieber, Roy plays multiple Pokemon and experience the return of Diallo, with the shiniest of nightmares and newest of consoles.

HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠

Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk⁠

Email - ⁠[email protected]⁠

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:06 - Intro

00:03:03 - Beaten

00:21:04 - Retired

00:49:38 - Playing

01:53:57 - Discussion

02:38:32 - Guess the Game

02:48:52 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Lia: You Are Jeff Bezos (Browser), Magarena (PC), GUNDAM CARD GAME Teaching App (Mobile), Magic the Gathering Arena (Mac/PC), Magic: The Gathering Online (PC), Magic: The Gathering (Browser), Disney Lorcana (Browser), Mahjong Soul (Mobile), Marvel Snap (Mobile), Tricky Bridge (Mobile), Tabletop Simulator (PC/Mac), Disney’s Dreamlight Valley (Switch), Quetzal (Mobile), The Crew 2 (PC), Red Dead Online (PC), Magic: The Gathering Arena (Mobile)

Matt: Gnat Attack Redux (PC), The Original Moorhuhn Hunt (PC), multiple “Scary Maze Games” (Original by Jeremy Winterrowd, Justin Bieber version, Maze Game DX by Razoric, Dreader by Donitz…), Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 (PC), Red Alarm (VB), Vox Populi: Germany 2025 (PC), Dino Crisis (PC), Magic the Gathering Arena (PC/Mobile), Jack Bros. (VB)

Diallo: Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC), Pokemon Legends: Z-A (Switch 2), to a T (PC)

Roy: Wordle (PC), Pokemon Orange (GBC), Pokemon Stadium 1 (N64/Switch), Pokemon Gold 97 Reforged (GBC), Tabletop Simulator (PC), Civilization IV (PC)

As it is Spooky Season™️, Lia, Matt and Roy follow their content creator obligation to talk about fitting things like games that actually managed to scare them and, of course, the best Halloween candy!

Between the usual yapping about video games and another round of "Guess the Game", you will also witness a rare return of the soap box segment!

Expect further escapades into different trading card games, a shoutout to Candy Crush players, a yearning for vocaloid games, and reports of mild enjoyment of German politics simulation.

HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum

Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk

Email - [email protected]

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:05 - Beaten

00:10:57 - Retired

00:30:48 - Playing

01:18:36 - Soap Box

01:24:29 - Halloween Candy & Scary Games

02:02:47 - Guess the Game

02:06:45 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Lia: Quetzal (Mobile), Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel (Mobile), Magic the Gathering Arena (PC), Warhammer Warpforge (Mobile), Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links (Mobile), Marvel Snap (Mobile), Disney Lorcana (Browser), Mahjong Soul (Mobile), Tricky Bridge (Mobile), Magarena (PC), Magic the Gathering Arena (Mac/Mobile), Tabletop Simulator (PC/Mac)

Matt: Silent Hill 2 [2001] (PC), Kind Words 2 (PC), Pokémon Ultra Moon (3DS), Dino Crisis (PC), Magic the Gathering Arena (PC/Mobile), Vox Populi: Germany 2025 (PC)

Roy: Wordle (PC), Pokemon Stadium (Switch), Tabletop Simulator (PC), Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (PC), Hatsune Miku Bomb Squad (GBC/PC)

It's time for another descent into gaming madness, wherein we brave hosts discuss all things video games and what presence sports games have on our backlogs and completed. Who has the most sports games in their catalog?

Join in as Roy gets destroyed by collegiate football simulations, Matt pulls back on emulations, and digital trading card games become Lia's new recreation.

HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠

Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk⁠

Email - ⁠[email protected]⁠

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:09 - Intro

00:01:03 - Beaten

00:09:23 - Retired

00:30:59 - Playing

01:19:03 - Sports Games

02:10:38 - Guess the Game

02:16:48 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Lia: Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (PS5), Pokemon TCG Live (Mobile), Max Payne (PC), Red Dead Online (PC), Nier Automata (PS4), Hairdresser Simulator (PC), Magic: The Gathering Arena (PC/Mobile), Disney Lorcana (Browser), Star Wars Unlimited (Browser), One Piece TCG (Browser), Tabletop Simulator (PC), Marvel Snap (Mobile), Wordle (Discord)

Matt: Time Flies (PC), Hatsune Miku Bomb Squad! (GBC/Browser), Backgammon + Checkers + Mills (PC), Murky Divers (PC), Wakeboarding Unleashed featuring Shaun Murray (PS2), Magic: The Gathering Arena (PC), Vox Populi: Germany 2025 (PC), Wordle (PC)

Roy: Wordle (PC), NCAA Football 10, Tabletop Simulator, Madden NFL 10

Welcome, fellow web surfer, to another episode of the How Long To Beat podcast!

Today Lia, Matt and Roy chat about how the proliferation of information through modern technology has impacted the gaming space, as well as the games that they’ve been spending time with recently and playing another round of “Guess the Game”!

Expect a yearning for Big Head Mode, criticisms towards videogame representations of New York City, news about pigeon DLC, and tragic tales of IRL Magic: The Gathering experiences!

HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum

Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk

Email - [email protected]

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:09 - Beaten

00:27:59 - Retired

00:34:14 - Playing

01:30:25 - The Proliferation of Information and its Impact on Games

02:26:30 - Guess the Game

02:36:40 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Lia: GTA: San Andreas Definitive Edition (PS4/5), He F*cked The Girl Out Of Me (PC), Death Rally (Classic) (PC), Death Rally (PC), Hitman 3 World of Assassination (PC), Spirit City: Lo-Fi Sessions (PC), Power Wash Simulator (PC), Max Payne (PC), Marvel Rivals (PC), Red Dead Online (PC), Nier Automata (PS4)

Matt: Need for Speed: ProStreet (PC), Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (PC), Align It (Mobile), Magic: The Gathering - Arena (PC/Mobile), Wakeboarding Unleashed featuring Shaun Murray (PS2), Wordle (PC)

Roy: Wordle (PC), Arknights (PC), Madden NFL 10 (PS2), Tabletop Simulator (PC), Touhou 6 - Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (PC)

The whittled down hosting trio are back for another round of video game chat, this time with slightly more Lia than required! Listen in as they discuss which seasons go with which games and why, and who is the freak who decided this topic was a good one? Follow for discussions on great franchise deals, the issue of meta overtaking storylines, which gacha is good, and whether or not they're all still doing Wordle.

HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum

Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk

Email - [email protected]

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)

Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:12 - Intro

00:01:33 - Beaten

00:31:24 - Retired

00:39:15 - Playing

01:11:11 - Seasonal Gaming

01:37:09 - Guess the Game

02:07:24 - Goodbye!

Games mentioned:

Lia: A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS4/5), A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS4/5), Infinity Nikki (PS5), Alan Wake 2 (PS5), we should talk (PC), GTA: Vice City Definitive Edition (PS4/5), Spider-Man 2 (PS5), nour (PC), The Pathless (PS5), Supermarket Simulator: Prologue (PC), Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order/Survivor (PS5), Tower of Fantasy (PS5), GTA: San Andreas Definitive Edition (PS4/5)

Matt: How Do You Do It? (PC), Backgammon + Checkers + Mills (PC), Murky Divers (PC), Magic: The Gathering - Arena (PC/Mobile), Kind Words 2 (PC)

Roy: Wordle (PC), Tabletop Simulator (PC), Balatro (PC), Arknights (Mobile)

The birds are angry these days!

But that doesn't stop us from blabbering on about videogames that we are playing. Or lack thereof, as we'll also be discussing gaming droughts, what might cause them, what might get us out of them, and what else we do when we're not spending our precious free-time with games.

Join us as we chat about rodents, complain about popping wheelies, and experience becoming one with the Wordle.

HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum

Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk

Email - [email protected]

Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro), Abatage (incidental), call me lethargy. (incidental)Graphic design – M4thew and Matt

00:00:00 - Intro

00:28:44 - Beaten

00:49:44 - Retired

00:29:46 - Playing

01:36:29 - Gaming Droughts

02:01:30 - Guess the Game

02:07:24 - Goodbye!

Games Mentioned:

Lia: It Takes Two (PS4/5), Broforce (Switch), Jumanji Wild Adventure (Switch), Tetris 99 (Switch), A Plague Tale Requiem (PS4/5), Power Wash Simulator Wallace & Gromit DLC (PC), Game Demos (Holy Gosh Darn, Squeakross, Until Then, Fix This House)

Matt: The House of the Dead: Remake (PC), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 (PC), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (PS1), Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2010 (PC), Backgammon + Checkers + Mills (PC), Murky Divers (PC), Align It (Mobile), Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (PC), Need for Speed: ProStreet (PC), Pokémon Ultra Moon (3DS), Kind Words 2 (PC)

Roy: City Connection (NES/Switch), Mimi’s Delivery Dash (PC), Tabletop Simulator (PC), Wordle (PC)