Press START

Forget gaming news, we're talking Elden Ring, baby. It wouldn't be a conversation about a Souls game without Twitch's own HeyKipp, and we're all pretty much in agreement that, at least so far, Elden Ring is one of the best games we've ever played. Strap in and join us on the Collective Gamer Moment that is Elden Ring. 

THINGS MENTIONED: 

GodGamerKate on Twitch.

Kanye West in Elden Ring.

Samwitch on Twitch.

nan_dre on Twitch. 

The new Pokemon starters. 

Our cool sounds, and the intro and outro music are by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter @Press_StartPod and you can email us who your favorite kong is at [email protected].

There's some pretty serious shit going on in the world this week, so join Tori and Noah in some frivolous-feeling discussions about some stuff that doesn’t suck. We’re talking Shin Megami Tensei (shocker) news, Pokemon news and about the games we’re loving right now (spoiler: it’s mostly just Earthbound).

THINGS REFERENCED:

Our cool sounds, and the intro and outro music are by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter @Press_StartPod and you can email us who your favorite kong is at [email protected].

Tori and Noah have good news and bad news about Nintendo, plus there's a lot of Earthbound talk, game preservation talk and some Big If True rumors.

THINGS REFERENCED:

Our cool sounds, and the intro and outro music are by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter @Press_StartPod and you can email us who your favorite kong is at [email protected].

Tori and Noah bring on special guest and certified Pokémon Expert Rae Paoletta to school us about Pokémon Legends: Arceus. We talk all things Pokémon, smoothies and dog photography. 

THINGS MENTIONED: 

Some story spoilers for Pokémon Legends: Arceus throughout. 

Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter @Press_StartPod and you can email us who your favorite kong is at [email protected].

There’s a lot of Donkey Kong talk in this one for some reason. Tori and Noah talk about new game studio announcements, another big-money acquisition and our favorite ape: Donkey Kong.

THINGS MENTIONED: 

This Polygon article about the Playstation Bungie acquisition.

This Nintendo Life article about the Donkey Kong rumors

DKVINE.com

This Nintendo Life article about Gardens

Slight spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles: 22:38 — 23:28

Slight spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett: 47:30 — 49:50

Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter @Press_StartPod and you can email us who your favorite kong is at [email protected].

Tori and Noah talk Star Wars, Final Fantasy VII, their indifference to the Steam Deck and how they're ready to be wowed by the new Pokémon game. 

THINGS MENTIONED: 

Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter @Press_StartPod and you can email us what you enjoyed in 2021 at [email protected].

Tori’s back from vacation and Noah has been slaving away in the video game news mines to keep her abreast of the biggest (sort of) gaming headlines. We talk Mario Kart, cyberbullying and tabletop card games.

THINGS MENTIONED:

This article about a Fallout TV show

This article about the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order.

This article about Capcom banning a rapist from their platform.

This article about XBOX and the blockchain

Sanic

Sokpop

The podcast Origin Story, specifically this episode featuring a conversation with the creator of Umurangi Generation

Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter at twitter.com/press_startpod and you can email us what you enjoyed in 2021 at [email protected].

Forget the Game Awards, Tori and Noah reflect on the games that they loved in 2021, the games they weren’t in love with and their predictions for 2022.

Slight spoilers for Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (31:35 — 32:28) and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (47:45 — 49:00)

Things mentioned:

Games we recommend checking out:

Tori:

Noah:

Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter at twitter.com/press_startpod and you can email us what you enjoyed in 2021 at [email protected].

Tori and Noah return after a holiday hiatus to talk gaming labor news, the Persona series, and, uh, predatory video game economies.

Things referenced:

Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics. You can follow the show on Twitter at twitter.com/press_startpod and you can email us what you enjoyed in 2021 at [email protected].

Tori and Noah reluctantly watched the Game Awards and have their thoughts about the show, abuses in the industry and, uh, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Further reading:

https://www.polygon.com/22380535/quantic-dream-lawsuit-toxic-workplace-harassment-racism-sexism-france-court-david-cage

https://www.fanbyte.com/news/report-goddamnit-it-looks-like-quantic-dream-is-making-a-star-wars-game/

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22826714/sonic-the-hedgehog-2-movie-trailer-the-game-awards

https://maximumfun.org/episodes/triple-click/whats-the-deal-with-the-game-awards/

Intro/outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST, podcast art is by Kai at Wisp Graphics.

Want to get in touch with the show to ask us questions or share your dream Smash Bros. characters? Email us at [email protected].