Idle Weekend

Idle Weekend episodes:

• 08.01.2018

  August 1, 2018: Transition Points

  It’s been a little while since we Idle Weekended, but for good reason! Your fearless hosts have been going through some *life stuff* and playing games that help us cope. Get ready for some talk about comfort games, the place...

  
• 06.22.2018

  June 22, 2018: The Sensitive Badass Type

  We consider a favorite archetype of ours in sci-fi: the sensitive badass! Rob and Danielle talk gender in sci-fi, the ways in which Farscape and the Expanse rock our socks, and why Thor is a whole lot more awesome than...

  
• 05.26.2018

  May 26, 2018: The Franchise in Your Heart

  It’s been too long, friends. But we have a solid, meaty Idle Weekend for you, ripe with discussions of long-running franchises we have a long relationship with, our trials in not ruining games for ourselves, and the utterly bananas part...

  
• 04.01.2018

  April 1, 2018: Hot 'n' Cold

  On this belated episode of Idle Weekend (Danielle is sorry for the wait), we discuss the things that really just do it for us—and the alternative, the games that leave us cold. It’s a very hot and cold weekend here,...

  
• 03.10.2018

  March 10, 2018: Joker Liberace

  Rob and Danielle take some time from playing the latest and greatest to do things they enjoy even more: play old games that actually scratch the right itches. It’s like 2007 all over again in here! Discussed: BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock...

  
• 02.18.2018

  February 18, 2018: Sometimes, You Gotta Try Twice

  Rob and Danielle regale one another with tales of TV shows (and movies, and books, and games!) that they weren't too keen on at first, but those frowns turned upside down with a little persistence. Discussed: Brooklyn 99, Crazy Ex...

  
• 02.04.2018

  February 4, 2018: An Underrated Trek

  This week, we welcome freelance writer Dia Lacina to the Idle Weekend world in order to discuss lesser entries in franchises or series that everyone shits on, but we love them. There’s a whole lot of Star Trek Talk in...

  
• 01.28.2018

  January 28, 2018: He Was A Good Captain, Til We Went Out The Airlock

  What dark depths lie under bright futures we like to imagine? That, and other lofty questions, are addressed on this episode, where we look at the authoritarian side of the sci-fi we love, the colonialism of games we’re enjoying, and...

  
• 01.24.2018

  January 24, 2018: It’s Back, Baby!

  with copy! Idle Weekend 1/21/18 It’s Back, Baby! This weekend, we talk about what it takes to make a game come back into the conversation, even if it’s just our little corner of the internet. It’s because we have a little...

  
• 01.15.2018

  January 15, 2018: The Way We Play

  This weekend, we extol the virtues of consoles and games that change our relationship to games, in honor of Rob’s newfound love of the Nintendo Switch. We also get into some good questions about gender stereotypes and game preferences, and...

  
• 01.05.2018

  January 5, 2018: The Bomb Cyclone of Podcasts

  In the extreme(ly bad) weather, it’s important to note one thing: we all have to work together to survive. Hence, we recount our favorite games and movies with extreme weather, from the comfort of our snowed-in houses. Discussed: Max Payne,...

  
• 12.31.2017

  December 31, 2017: Homelife, 2017

  The Idle Weekenders bid this crappy year adieu with the help of friend and colleague Cameron Kunzelman. They talk home settings in games, from the cozy confines of Stardew Valley’s quaint town, to the too-millennial aspirations of later Sims, to...

  
• 12.25.2017

  December 25, 2017: Merry Night In the Woods Christmas

  Rob and Danielle survived a truly, comically terrible fall to podcast again! We chat about the too-realness of Night in the Woods, going home for the holidays, and the games and movies that have made the last few months vaguely...

  
• 11.24.2017

  November 24, 2017: What a Twist!

  Danielle and Rob are here, in Idle Weekend-land, a very good place, to discuss... The Good Place (spoilers abound), and many other games, shows, and movies that do twists well. Discussed: The Good Place, Mad Men, The Visit, Blade Runner, Momento,...

  
• 10.13.2017

  October 13, 2017: Into the Woods

  Rob and Danielle both had delightful woodland experiences to recount this weekend, as well as stories about gaming happy places (like Prey) and a beloved movie—Blade Runner. The first one. Don't worry, we'll talk about the new Blade Runner soon! Discussed:...

  
• 09.30.2017

  September 30, 2017: The Vacation Games

  Sometimes, you have to pay to play. Danielle returns from glorious Scotland to regale Rob with tales of sightseeing, martial arts, and Mario Vs. Rabbids, while Rob has many vacation tales of his own, including the time he was too...

  
• 09.15.2017

  September 15, 2017: Use It or Lose It

  Idle Weekend is back! After a too-long lapse where PAX happened and we all worked too much, Rob and Danielle return to what they know best: talking about Star Trek, Farscape, and immersive sims. After a riveting discussion of criminally...

  
• 08.18.2017

  August 18, 2017: Sleepovers, Prey Tell?

  In this fine installment of Idle Weekend, we get really excited about (GOTY) Prey, the finest damned immersive sim this side of the solar system. Rob has finished it, and we spoil the hell out of the ending. We also...

  
• 08.11.2017

  August 11, 2017: The Mooch

  In honor of the Mooch, we go through our gaming torrid affairs: games we had a very brief, very intense love affair with. Sometimes, these things just don't work out. Discussed: Kingdom, No Man's Sky, Empire: Total War, Mass Effect 3,...

  
• 07.27.2017

  July 27, 2017: The Little Engine That Could

  This weekend, we wade into the game engine kerfuffle with opinions, context, and that characteristic Idle Weekend spice. Then, we go hard into a discussion of weekend projects, with action movies, professional wrestling, and combat sports. Like you do on...

  
• 07.02.2017

  July 2, 2017: Bleacher Bums

  Rob and Danielle meet for an overdue weekend after a Rob's cross-country move. Rob's been getting re-acclimated by playing a lot of MLB The Show 17 and discovers it's like watching baseball with a cool, knowledgeable friend. But a discussion...

  
• 06.18.2017

  June 18, 2017: Madness Mechanics

  We survived E3! That's reason enough to do a horror-themed episode this weekend, thanks to a nifty demo for Distrust. We take a lovely tour through some of our favorite, terrifying game experiences, with a light sprinkling of film. Then,...

  
• 06.11.2017

  June 11, 2017: Off to the Races

  This weekend, we're all about going really fast in pretty places. We discuss our favorite racing games, spurned on by a couple of recent humdingers, Dirt 4 and Wipeout Omega Collection, and Rob's love of F1. Discussed: Wipeout Omega Collection, Dirt...

  
• 06.02.2017

  June 2, 2017: Pushing Our Buttons

  This weekend, we decided to talk about hard-stops in games. The things that make us look a game in the face, in disbelief or exasperation, and break up with them on the spot. We also dig in on music we...

  
• 05.28.2017

  May 28, 2017: Renaissance Morgan

  This weekend, we are still obsessed with Prey, the Immersive Sim in Space that could. We also chat about other fine games: like Dishonored 2 and Deus Ex, and we close out with a discussion of TV shows we're not...

  
• 05.18.2017

  May 18, 2017: Eat, Prey, Love

  This episode is either really early, or really late, and either way, you can place the blame entirely on Prey for being so goddamned awesome. We talk Prey, space lesbians, immersive sims in general, and, a little more about problematic...

  
• 05.08.2017

  May 8, 2017: Good Old Games

  This weekend, we're talking about games that are old... but despite our approaching them with the trepidation befitting older, jankier software, they hold up like a dream. Elsewhere, we talk about difficult media (again, with a content warning for the...

  
• 05.01.2017

  May 1, 2017: Your Thorax Sure Is Supportive

  This weekend, we are exploring our other selves. Our gaming selves, silly, not some Jungian archetype business. When is role-playing not even really role-playing, but... something else entirely? Discussed:Expedition: Viking, Bloodborne, Dishonored, Mass Effect, BioShock, Fallout, Zelda: Breath of the Wild,...

  
• 04.24.2017

  April 24, 2017: Cull Your Frustums

  How much do game players know? Do they know things? Let's find out! We wade into a minor kerfuffle online about how much devs like to disclose about tech, and then, we dip into some serious territory in the weekend...

  
• 04.15.2017

  April 15, 2017: The 90s Were Great, Ok?

  This weekend, we get good and mad about genres that just happen to be from the decade when we were kids/teens, that get stomped all over. Genres like the 3D platformer and the FMV. Why? Because some people on the...

  
• 04.11.2017

  April 11, 2017: Making Up Is Hard To Do

  Yes, this is something of a make-up episode, since we have been tardy lately. Comically so! But that won't stop us from discussing things that we stick with, even if we don't think they're super great. Related: we appreciate...

  
• 03.30.2017

  March 30, 2017: My Gaming Renaissance

  Danielle would like to apologize for the tardiness of this episode. But! There is a lot of good stuff here, as we discuss games that have made us fall in love with the format all over again. It’s an all-gaming...

  
• 03.20.2017

  March 20, 2017: Be the Recon You Want to Ghost in the World

  Both Rob and Danielle are playing a LOT of games: so many that there aren't even any letters in this episode. This week features a freewheeling discussion of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, genre-jumping in long-running franchises like Resident Evil and Zelda,...

  
• 03.11.2017

  March 11, 2017: PAXing Makes Me Feel Good

  It's a very special Idle Weekend, because, not only is Danielle at PAX, but Rob is finishing his first week as an editor at Waypoint! We talk PAX, open-world solutions and games that deal with death in this special, blitz-edition...

  
• 03.06.2017

  March 6, 2017: An Austin Walker Original

  Today, we are joined by Waypoint Editor in Chief, mech enthusiast and friend of the show Austin Walker, for a whopping 2+ hour idle weekend extravaganza. We talk deconstruction in games, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and The Wire, amongst...

  
• 02.27.2017

  February 27, 2017: Archie and The Unreality of the Real

  This weekend, we welcome special guest Evan Narcisse to the show, to talk comics, games and books. We're especially interested in conflict in games and comics that *doesn't* come from cartoon bad guys, but instead, a slightly more realistic—and complex...

  
• 02.20.2017

  February 20, 2017: When Live Gives You a BFG

  This weekend, we talk about our fatal flaws in gaming: sometimes, we need to learn to just use our goddamn BFGs. In other media, we're both digging Legion, and the violent stylings of one John Wick. Discussed: Hearts of Iron IV,...

  
• 02.13.2017

  February 13, 2017: Stat Decay

  This weekend, we get too real about aging, athleticism, and the brutal pain of stat decay, in games and in real life. But don't worry, we manage to have some fun too. And we apologize for the lower-than-usual sound quality—to...

  
• 02.06.2017

  February 6, 2017: Batman Academy

  It's time to talk Batman! Well, sort of. Rob is having second thoughts about Batman: Arkham Origins, which prompts a discussion on games that give a very particular kind of feedback during play. Also, Superman Returns is an underrated movie. Discussed:...

  
• 01.29.2017

  January 29, 2017: Mailbag for a Tattered Nation

  Rob is protesting the unlawful executive order on travelers from Muslim countries, so I'm doing a short mailbag episode centered on self-care and giving yourself the space you need to get through the damned day. Keep Weekending, friends. Discussed: Kingdom Hearts,...

  
• 01.22.2017

  January 22, 2017: We're Watching Here!

  Games are fun to play and all, but watching—that's where it's at. At least, for some games. This weekend, we're all about the spectator sports, from speedrunning to Hitmanning to eSporting. Discussed: StarCraft, Overwatch, League of Legends, MMA, Hitman (2016), Final...

  
• 01.16.2017

  January 16, 2017: What to Play

  There's a lot of existential dread in the world right now, and I think we're all feeling it. It even seeps into our favorite escape, in the form of choice paralysis and gaming guilt. Things get REAL in this episode,...

  
• 01.07.2017

  January 7, 2017: Get Your Camera Out of Trico's Butt

  This weekend, we chatted about the worst—and best—frustrations we've experienced in games, inspired by recent explorations of the great-but-so-unpolished The Last Guardian. Control schemes, systems running beneath the hood, and talk of movies loved and hated round out our weekend...

  
• 12.30.2016

  December 30, 2016: Self-Care in the New Year

  This weekend, we're talking about self-care games: what we play when we need to chill out, ease our anxieties and have a breather. So what do we like best? Catching em' all, shooting zombies, and just taking off in a...

  
• 12.23.2016

  December 23, 2016: The Top Ten Before Christmas

  The Weekenders are here to wish you a very merry Whatever You Celebrate! And also, to count down their most favorite games of 2016. Enjoy! Discussed: Homeworld: Deserts of Karak, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Dishonored 2, Overwatch, Hearts of Iron...

  
• 12.20.2016

  December 20, 2016: Mythology in the Midst

  Danielle apologizes for making this episode more of an Idle Monday than an Idle Weekend. Even though we're late, we have an exciting episode for you, as we examine the constant reinterpretation of popular characters in our own modern mythologies....

  
• 12.11.2016

  December 11, 2016: The Mailbag Before Christmas

  It's a ridiculous holiday season, which means Danielle is doing a dip into the ol' mailbag before going on her merry way. Don't worry, Rob will be back next weekend for more adventures! A quick note: Audio quality isn't up to...

  
• 12.03.2016

  December 3, 2016: The One Hundred Percenters

  This weekend, we're talking about the pleasure and queasy terror of games that make us want to find every last drop of #content. Based on our Dishonored 2 and Mafia 3 experiences, and the horrible FOMO feelings that we carry,...

  
• 11.25.2016

  November 25, 2016: Happy Dishonored Black Friday

  It's a holiday weekend! Which means we're finally getting to catch up with our beloved games, including Dishonored 2, which everyone is currently enjoying like a fine Karcannan Plantain, heaped upon a golden plate. We're also ready to feast upon...

  
• 11.21.2016

  November 21, 2016: Electing Better

  Hey listeners! This was the first Idle Weekend episode we recorded after the 2016 presidential election, and we talk about politics, a lot. But, instead of cutting bits and pieces, we elected (ha!) to keep it all in, to give...