There's a (silk)song in Ben's heart as he brings on Matt James to share their reactions to one of the most anticipated games of the past several years: 'Hollow Knight: Silksong.' In a largely spoiler-free discussion after roughly 60 combined hours spent exploring the land of Pharloom, they consider what made 'Hollow Knight' and its sequel such sensations, how the hype for 'Silksong' grew, how the new game retains and tweaks the original's formula, whether 'Silksong' is too hard, and whether it lives up to unrestrained expectations.

Intro (0:00)
'Hollow Knight: Silksong' Reactions (3:00)
Outro (1:13:04)

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guest: Matt James
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve and Jomi return for a long-awaited comics catch-up! They dive into ‘Spider-Man ’94’ and share what makes new releases like ‘Exquisite Corpses' and ‘Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum’ stand out. The duo also revisit ‘Absolute Batman’ and other must-reads before closing with their reactions to Amazon’s announcement of a ‘Life Is Strange’ adaptation.
Intro (0:00)
‘Spider-Man ’94’ + Comic Book Roundup (6:49)
‘Life Is Strange‘ Adaptation Reactions (54:54)
Outro (1:00:45)
Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The boys are back to give you the long-awaited Mantle Wars! But first, they talk about the latest Nerd News in the James Gunn universe, and ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode 3.

(0:00) Intro

(7:55) Nerd News: James Gunn

(30:26) Reactions to ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode 3

(47:26) Mantle Wars

(2:13:08) Outro

(2:14:09) Post Credits

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Chris Thomas, Jade Whaley, and Aleya Zenieris

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a brief break, 'Recommends' returns with a revamped format, featuring a conversation between Ben and a guest about one of the month's recommendations! This time, Ben brings on Rany Jazayerli for a spoiler-free focus on sci-fi streaming series 'Foundation,' with an emphasis on the series' strengths, adaptation decisions, latest season, and future. After that, other Ringer-Verse hosts, friends, and listeners salute unsung nerd culture content to complete this expanded installment of the monthly roundup of fandom favorites from TV, anime, movies, video games, books, comics, and beyond that were released recently but not yet covered in-depth on a full-length episode.

(04:35) Foundation Talk

(38:21) Weapons

(41:35) The Rogue Prince of Persia

(42:32) Ruri Rocks

(43:12) Dan Da Dan Season 2

(44:08) Herdling

(46:11) Listener Recommends with Ben

Host: Ben Lindbergh

Guests: Rany Jazayerli, Jomi Adeniran, Steve Ahlman, Charles Holmes, and Daniel Chin

Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman

Social: Jomi Adeniran

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben places a codec call to Steve Ahlman and Matt James to review the new remake of 'Metal Gear Solid 3.' First, they discuss a deluge of upcoming sequels (including 'Hollow Knight: Silksong') and react to the latest indication that the console wars are over, hardware price hikes, and comebacks by two venerable ninja-centric series. Then they discuss how 'MGS3' holds up, how the remake alters the original, and the post-Kojima future of the franchise, before recommending indie gem 'Sword of the Sea.' Finally, Ben has a (mostly spoiler-free) chat with 'Twisted Metal' showrunner/writer Michael Jonathan Smith about how he conceived of the first two seasons, depicting the titular tournament in a bigger-budget Season 2, drawing on 'Twisted Metal' lore, the show's cast and comedic tone, and his vision for a third season.

Intro (0:00)
'Metal Gear Solid 3.' Review (23:00)
Interview with Michael Jonathan Smith (1:09:13)
Outro (1:41:14)

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guest: Steve Ahlman, Matt James and Michael Jonathan Smith
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The boys are back to talk about the newest episodes of ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 and ‘Alien: Earth’! They dive into what James Gunn’s weaknesses in ‘Peacemaker’ could be and the many questions ‘Alien: Earth' is asking its audience. Plus, they somehow end up discussing Scrappy vs. Scooby Doo.

(0:00) Intro

(11:32) Spoilers ahead

(13:03) Reactions to ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2, Episode 2

(38:30) ‘Alien: Earth’ midseason check-in

(1:19:11) Outro

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Olivia Crerie

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The boys are back to talk about the ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 premiere! They discuss John Cena’s acting prowess, what ‘Peacemaker’ means for the James Gunn DC universe, and the plans for the new Justice League.

(0:00) Intro

(14:35) Spoilers ahead

(16:17) Reactions to the ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 premiere

(1:27:20) Outro

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Chris Thomas, Jade Whaley, and Aleya Zenieris

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve and Jomi team up with K-pop stan Jess Clemons to dive into Netflix’s ‘K-pop: Demon Hunters.’ They discuss the film’s explosive popularity, its chart-topping soundtrack, and wrap up by ranking their personal favorite tracks.

Intro (0:00)
'K-Pop: Demon Hunters' Deep Dive (5:36)
Top Tracks Ranked! (52:58)
Outro (1:11:42)

Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman
Guest: Jess Clemons
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben recruits game journalists (and ex-coworkers) Chris Plante, Maddy Myers, and Joshua Rivera to draft the greatest games featuring Mario, in honor of the upcoming 40th anniversary of 'Super Mario Bros.' First, they share their origin stories as Mario gamers, discuss what makes the character so versatile, and speculate on what Nintendo might announce for the franchise's big birthday. Then they select the all-time greatest (and weirdest!) Mario-centric releases across several genres.
Intro (0:00)
'Super Mario Bros.' 40th anniversary draft (24:55)
Outro (1:47:20)
Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guests: Chris Plante, Maddy Myers, and Joshua Rivera
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Boys are back to give you all of their thoughts on FX’s new show: ‘Alien: Earth.’ They then dive into an alien draft, picking their favorite depictions of aliens in media from five categories: human-presenting alien, good alien, bad alien, animated alien, and wild card.

(0:00) Intro

(10:43) Spoilers ahead

(13:10) Reactions to ‘Alien: Earth’

(1:01:42) Alien draft

(1:36:20) Alien wars

Hosts: Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman

Producers: Aleya Zenieris and Jade Whaley

Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices