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Welcome to Episode 292

Ram has turns 40 this week, and we marked the occasion with a birthday sheep.

We kick things off discussing Ram's birthday celebrations, including a trip to the cinema to see The Sheep Detectives (Hugh Jackman as a shepherd, and including the likes Patrick Stewart and Bryan Cranston as sheep). Follow up with a Chinese takeaway. We end discussing our choice of various take aways and lament the lost to fire of the local Indian. We also discuss ram's trip to the recent Pig & Poultry Fair

Skazz looks at some recent tech with the new steam controller, discussing the changed and steam deck compatibility

We also discuss the minions summering Cthulhu, buying a tractor for commuting and confusing McDonald's workers with real cows

Notes

Our woolly friends solve a murder in The Sheep Detectives

The crossover we never expected to see

The minions summon Cthulhu

The latest in Pig Technology at the Pig and Poultry fair

The new Steam controller https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamcontroller

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on 4th June 2026, at 18:30 GMT+1 either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to episode 291

We kick off with some discussion of our approaching 300th episode milestone and the upcoming teddy bear wars

We talk about the good and bad of gaming community's and how they can become echo chambers with people regurgitating opinions rather then forming their own and how people should not be afraid to enjoy what they want to enjoy, even if it goes against the mainstream. We talk about midnight launchers and discovering games yourself in the shops

Ram then talks about his early impressions of Atomic Heart (2023). Set in an alternate-timeline Soviet Union with what feels like some it has been very heavy influenced by Bioshock Infinite. Some fun gameplay but also some awful characters

Notes

The nanny state stopping people launchers themselves out of a trebuchet

Explore a world where robots have gone mad in an alternate USSR in Atomic Heart

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on 21st May 2026, at 18:30 GMT+1 either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to Episode 290

Only 6 minutes late this week, practically a record for us!

We get into gaming first by discussing RV there yet, a physic based puzzle game where you have to get your RV back from your camping trip by navigating across a large physics-based map full of rock slides and chaos, its like a crossover of Mudrunner and a Top Gear road trip. We talk about the clever damage system, the fun winching and physic mechanics, but agree it best played with friends

Onto a more disappointing game, Ram has been playing Layers of Fear. It was mean to be a psychological horror but delivers nothing but relentless cheap jump scares and a paper-thin gameplay loop, with you walking from room to room and puzzle so simple they don't deserve to be call that

Skazz has been getting back into VR and the new Meta Quest 3. He talk about the new features like the colour pass through with mild mixed reality, the excellent pancake lenses and how the wireless PC streaming works brilliantly

We also discuss defeating werewolves with chocolate, stolen game collections, the slimmer Gabe Newell and Gaussian splatting

Notes

Gabe Newell is looking better then ever before

Gather your mate and road trip in an easily destroyed motorhome in RV There yet?

Disappointing psychological horror game Layers of Fear

Get back into VR with meta's new headset

Corridors take on the new tech of Gaussian Splats

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on 7th May 2026, at 18:30 GMT+1 either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to Episode 289

We kick off reflecting on ageing and the unsettling reality of how quickly life passes discussing "life calendars", prostate exams and what day of the week we are on

We then move onto Ram creating Nicktopia 15 in Timberborn, He discusses some of the major changes since he last played, including bad water mechanics, automation, logic gates, zip lines, and the new dedicated warehouse system.

In a historic first for his colony, not a single beaver died due to his mismanagement. instead he has happy, dancing, zip-lining beavers enjoying statues, mudpools, and debate chambers.

We also look at real-life beavers in the UK, and good news, they are being reintroduced this year almost perfectly timed with Timberborn's 1.0 release.

Notes

Have fun with wet beavers in Timberborn

And they are coming back to the uk!

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on April 23rd 2026, at 18:30 GMT+1 either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to Episode 288

Despite discussing it last episode, Ram has not been playing Timberborn, instead he saving it for the Easter weekend so he can dedicate some time to it

Ram then shows his enthusiasms over the Project Hail Mary film, Having been a big fan of both the book and Audio book, he's reviews and discusses the plot of the film and compares it to the novel (Lots of spoilers!). Along with discussing Ryan Gosling's performance and how they had to truncate the plot for the film to focus on the relationship between Grace and the Rocky. He also shows off his helmet and talks about some other merch he'll be getting.

Keeping to a space theme, Ram then talk about the game Tin Can, a small survival game where you maintain a broken escape pod's systems until you get rescued, Although only briefly played, Ram is looking to try it in VR mode.

Finally we move onto the our latest Games Day game R.E.P.O, a co-op roguelike survival horror game we are apparently debt collectors retrieving random valuables from hazardous locations and avoiding monsters, some of which have interesting mechanics, plus we find out who is the "king of the losers"

Notes

Although changed, a worthy Book to Film adaption in Project Hail Mary

You can also check out the Book and the excellent Audiobook

Can you keep your escape pod running? Find out in Tin Can

Repossess items from odd place and odd monsters in R.E.P.O.

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on April 9th 2026, at 18:30 GMT+1 either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to Episode 287

Poor Skazzz is running on no caffeine and suffering for it

Ram is very much looking forward to Timberborn hitting version 1.0 which is being released the same days as the podcats, Ram has high hopes as think to some changed he should be able to create an accident gulag, he also talks about picking up an adorable Iron Tooth plushie

Moving onto what we've been playing, whilst waiting for Timberborn, Ram has been having fun in Ship Graveyard Simulator 2. Hes talks about the mechanics — buying ships, methodically dismantling them with hammers, circular saws and blowtorches, sorting scrap at the recycling yard, and upgrading your tools. He compares it to Hardspace: Shipbreaker which he played last year, and give his thoughts on which one is better out of the two

Skazz then takes us into a big nostalgic deep-dive. After failing to find his old Warcraft games on Battle.net, he ended up down a rabbit hole of disappointing WoW private servers before rediscovered his love of Final Fantasy XI by playing on the Horizon XI private server. He recalls the emotions as he booted it up on his Steam Deck and hearing the music again for the first time since 2003. We then discuss FFXI's unique mechanics such as job changing instead of starting new characters, the brutal level-down-on-death system and the way the game encouraged forced group play.

We also dicuss VR treadmills and Ram cosplaying as a beaver costume

Notes

Dilbert suffers the horror of no Caffeine

V1 is finally out for Timberborn

Get your own cuddly Iron Tooth

More cute beavers in the Timerborn lore trailerWack big things with hammers in Ship Graveyard Simulator 2

In Ram's opinion the better game, Hardspace: Shipbreaker

You can still play online on official servers with Final Fantasy XI

Or check out a free FFXI private server with Horizon XI

Get into the Timber born spirit in your own Beaver costume

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on March 26th 2026, at 18:30 GMT either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to Episode 286

We kicked things off with the revelation of Skazz drinking alcohol-free beer, which somehow leads us into a conversation about old house layouts, how corridors are a surprisingly modern invention, and how Ram grandfather built a clever loft ladder. We also discuss how ram dogs Swift and Angel have managed to get addicted to doggy crack in the form of a milk supplement 'Better dog' and how they now refused to drink anything else

Onto games, Skazz has broken his rule of not buying games by purchasing Ys X Proud Nordics, however there is an issue with the developer anti-consumer practices with the back handed 'loyalty discount'. This leads us into the bigger debate on collecting more modern games and how its not preservation. Ram discuss the upcoming release of Timberborn 1.0 on march 12th, and how much he looking forward to it, hopefully he wont make an accidental gulag this time

Ram them moves onto Frostpunk, a survival city-builder set in a frozen steampunk alternate history. He brakes down the mechanics such as managing coal, heat, population morale, and how he fall into his old way by putting children to work forming a secret police, and other increasingly desperate decisions. Both of Ram's runs end how you would expect

Notes

The history of corridors

Not sure what in it, but Betterdog is crack for dogs, watch out they don't get addicted!

Dodgy dealing by the publishers in Ys X Proud Nordics

A cute but dark trailer for Timberborn V1.0

And check out V1.0 due out 12th March

For more cute but dark animal action check out Tooth and Tail

Can you keep the heat on in Frostpunk

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on March 12th 2026, at 18:30 GMT either on YouTube or Twitch

We start of by discuss the rising prices of hardware thanks to the demand of AI. As well as some software issues with Skazz mucking up a simple fix of his Steam Deck issue, Ram fighting DaVinci for being too greedy with his cache

Moving onto games, we discuss Bloody Trapland 2: Curiosity a platformed with Co-op mode which we have been playing on games day, and how some of us (Ram) is struggling with the game-play

Skazz then asked an question of Ram, what would make him leave Windows,

we then move onto keeping kids safe on the internet and how the current government policy are simply not workable

Notes

A difficult platformer with lots of deaths, Bloody Trapland 2: Curiosity

Why does notepad need AI, and what security issues can is cause

At least when AI screws up it will apologies to you

Some of the horrors of Radiation from the past for the poor Radium Girls

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on February 26th 2026, at 18:30 GMT either on YouTube or Twitch

We kick off discussing sub vs dubs of imported TV series and where they can go wrong, before we manage to move onto games

Skazz has been living the mercenary life in Armored Core fires of Rubicon. Stomping round in a big robot suit killing loads of enemy's, gathering intel and somehow being stealthy, hes suffered from control confusion, reliving the same story lines and developing an easy strategy to take down his opponents.

Ram has been running a restaurant and in Parisian Brasserie Simulator, A surprisingly stressful game including surviving the horrors of the breakfast services, scary character models and over expanding his restaurant so much he tanks his review.

We also discuss how Ram is in every anime, how to survive against a tank in real life and optimising the fun out of games

Notes

When you get AI to design your logo for an international organization

Mech fighting in Armored Core Fires of Rubicon

An ancient game who's rules were rediscovered a few years a go, the Royal Game or Ur

Tom Scott takes on the British academic who re-discovered the rules

To avoid further argument, here are the Actual rules of Monopoly

A chess rule that did not become world wide until 1880, En Passant

Realise the dream of running your own restaurant in France in Parisian Brasserie Simulator

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on February 12th 2026, at 18:30 GMT either on YouTube or Twitch

Welcome to Episode 283, our first podcast of 2026

We kick things off discussing whether it actually rains in Australia and the recent snow 'storm' in the UK, before exploring how Ram's smart home setup is making life easier.

On the gaming front, Skazz talks about picking up a mini console—the Commodore 64 Black Edition. This classic console comes with a twist: it only features recently released commodore games.

Ram has been playing the System Shock 2 remaster, discussing how it stays faithful to the original while highlighting new features like co-op mode. He explores how System Shock evolved the genre and paved the way for Bioshock.

We also dive into the dangers of overhyping games and TV shows, Skazz's skills as a blender, and the king of office equipment.

Notes

Cold this winter? how about a Japanese's heated table

A classic commodore 64 mini console with 'modern' games

Classic C64 controller, the Cheetah Bug

Another amazing remake by Nightdive studios, the System Shock 2 remaster

We look forward to seeing you all on the next podcast on January 29th 2026, at 18:30 GMT either on YouTube or Twitch