Is Rise of the Tomb Raider actually worth your time, or is it one of those games you play for a few hours and quietly abandon?

This week on Unskippable Dialogue, we dig into Lara Croft’s second outing in the reboot trilogy and figure out why it never quite clicks. On paper, it has everything—big set pieces, slick traversal, stealth combat, but something about it feels… off.

We get into:

• Why the gameplay loop starts to feel like busywork
• The difference between a world that pulls you in and one that just gives you a checklist
• Story moments that should land but don’t
• How it stacks up against Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed, and other open-world games
• Why some games feel worth exploring, and others feel like a chore

There’s also the usual nonsense, late-night YouTube rabbit holes, questionable comparisons, and a fair bit of roasting along the way.

If you’re thinking about playing Rise of the Tomb Raider, or you’ve bounced off it before, this one will help you decide if it’s worth another go.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Unskippable Dialogue – the Irish gaming podcast, Pearse and Conor dive into Slay the Princess, the critically acclaimed indie horror visual novel from Black Tabby Games.

Originally released on PC and recently expanded with The Pristine Cut for consoles, Slay the Princess challenges players with a deceptively simple mission: go into the basement and kill the princess before she destroys the world. Easy, right? Not quite.

What unfolds is a twisted psychological narrative filled with branching choices, unreliable narrators, disturbing transformations, and multiple timelines, where every decision changes the story in unexpected ways.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What makes Slay the Princess such a standout indie horror game
• How the visual novel format creates tension and storytelling depth
• The game’s themes of trust, control, perception, and identity
• Why the Pristine Cut release has brought the game to a wider audience
• Whether Slay the Princess belongs among the best narrative games of the decade

I

f you enjoy indie games, narrative-driven horror, or visual novels, this is a game (and episode) you won’t want to skip.

🎧 Unskippable Dialogue is the Irish gaming podcast covering video game reviews, retro gaming, and the biggest stories in gaming every week.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of Unskippable Dialogue – your favourite Irish gaming podcast – Pearse and co‑host dive deep into Sorry We’re Closed, the indie survival‑horror game that mixes PS1 nostalgia with queer romance, satanic curses and supermarket shelves.

Expect witty banter about love as horror, capitalism as the real monster, and whether clunky combat can actually make a game scarier. We unpack developer à la mode games’ journey, publisher Akupara Games’ support, and the awards buzz surrounding this gem. Plus: our usual dose of gaming news, retro tidbits and humour that only an Irish video game podcast can deliver.

Don’t miss this unskippable chat about one of 2024’s most surprising indie hits!

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Unskippable Dialogue, your favourite Irish gaming podcast with more dry humour than a Bethesda bug log, Conor takes on Cyberpunk 2077, from Keanu-powered hype to broken promises and the mother of all patch notes. We relive the pre-order chaos, the pantsless NPCs, the legendary yellow apology screens, and that time Sony booted the game from its own shop.

But it’s not all memes and meltdowns. Cyberpunk didn’t just survive; it evolved. Thanks to relentless fixes, community feedback, and the genuinely excellent Phantom Liberty expansion, Night City finally works (and it’s fun now, who knew?).

So, was the wait worth it? Did CDPR earn their redemption? Is it actually a good game now?

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Unskippable Dialogue, Pearse finally sits down with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, a game that spent seven years in development, one very public reset, and somehow still arrived carrying the weight of everyone’s expectations like a cursed Chozo artefact.

We talk about the logo-only reveal back in 2017, the 2019 development restart, and how Beyond opens feeling more like Halo than Metroid, Space Pirates, marines everywhere… and then they vanish completely. Classic.

There’s a deep dive into scanning (too much of it), the poorly signposted point of no return that will absolutely ruin your 100% run, and why Metroid Prime Hunters somehow has more mechanical variety than a modern flagship sequel. We also get into Nintendo briefly flirting with open-world design because Breath of the Wild existed, and why Metroid absolutely does not need that energy.

Boss fights come in for a hammering, especially the final encounter, which ignores everything Metroid bosses traditionally teach you and replaces it with escort mechanics, damage sponges, and vibes. Bad vibes.

By the end of it, Pearse lands where he’s been circling all episode: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a good game that never had a chance. Not because it’s bad, but because the internet decided it had to be transcendent.

A calm, spoiler-aware, Irish gaming podcast take on one of Nintendo’s most over-argued-about releases.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Game Awards 2025 are done, dusted, and already being argued about online, so naturally, Unskippable Dialogue decided to do our own version. Welcome to The Skippies.

In this episode, Pearse and Conor break down The Game Awards 2025 from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, covering the big winners, the obvious winners, and the ones that caused a bit of side-eye. We talk Clair Obscur cleaning up, Battlefield 6 taking best audio, No Man’s Sky still refusing to die, and why GTA 6 being “Most Anticipated” surprised absolutely nobody.

But let’s be honest, nobody watches The Game Awards for the awards. We dig into the trailers (or lack thereof), why this felt like a quieter year, and how Nintendo Directs now regularly outperform Geoff Keighley’s big night. There’s also a healthy amount of slagging, nostalgia for E3, praise where it’s deserved, and frustration where it isn’t. We also hand out our own personal awards, talk Game of the Year, surprises of 2025, what disappointed us, and what we’re actually excited to play next. Expect opinions on Pragmata, future Capcom games, retro-futurism in sci-fi, and why “polished white sci-fi” does absolutely nothing for us anymore 

As ever, it’s a mix of:

• Game Awards analysis
• Gaming industry chat
• Hot takes that may age terribly

If you’re looking for a Game Awards 2025 podcast, an Irish gaming podcast, or just want a slightly unhinged end-of-year gaming chat — this one’s for you.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for another instalment of your favourite Irish gaming podcast! In this episode, Conor and the Tokken lads trade in pizza for Power Cosmic as they tackle Marvel’s Cosmic Invasion – the brand‑new beat‑’em‑up from Tribute Games and Dotemu.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when Spider‑Man teams up with Nova or why Beta Ray Bill’s Stormbreaker hovers mid‑screen, we’ve got you covered. The lads chat about their experiences with the game’s Cosmic Swap system, the deep‑cut roster (hello, Cosmic Ghost Rider!), and how the boss fights stack up against

 TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge. There’s a discussion on difficulty spikes, co‑op chaos, and whether this successor to Shredder’s Revenge lives up to the hype.

It wouldn’t be an Irish gaming podcast without a tangent or two: expect side‑quests into hair loss treatments, windy weather in Belfast, and why Robbie Reyes isn’t in space (yet). Whether you’re here for retro gaming news, the latest Marvel release, or enjoy dry banter about action figures and weaves, this episode will tickle your funny bone while keeping things informative.

Subscribe for more gaming news, retro throwbacks, and developer tidbits as we keep the craic flowing each week.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of Unskippable Dialogue, the Irish gaming podcast for gamers who prefer their heroics with a dash of chaos and a hint of Buldak hot sauce. Conor takes the lead and reviews Dispatch, the new superhero narrative adventure from AdHoc Games, built by former Telltale devs and rescued from oblivion by Critical Role. Across 7 hours of sharp writing, deeply cursed characters, messy romances, and a dispatch system that’s basically Coffee Talk meets XCOM, Dispatch absolutely floored us and Conor explains precisely why this choice-driven story has instantly become one of the best narrative games in years.

From

• Robert Robertson’s washed-up post-superhero midlife crisis,
• to the Z-Team of reformed villains (including a tiny Irish man whose entire personality is punching people in the dick),
• to the phenomenal voice cast (Aaron Paul, Matt Mercer, Alanna Pearce, MoistCr1tikal, JackSepticEye),
• 
  

We also derail into:

– cursed AI “cup buck” lads,

– which sauces are the sauciest,

– four-chan as a character-creation engine,

– romancing tall women with enchanted amulets,

– and why the UNREAL amount of dog hair in Connor’s throat is absolutely a supervillain origin story.

I

f you love:

gaming podcasts, narrative games, Telltale-style storytelling, Critical Role, indie game reviews, or two Irish lads laughing until they nearly die on mic.

This episode is unskippable.

Join the Discord, send us your voice notes, and fight us about which superhero we should have romanced.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Unskippable Dialogue, Pearse and Conor go full banana-mad as we review Donkey Kong Bananza, the brand-new Switch 2 adventure from Nintendo EPD Tokyo, the powerhouse team behind Mario Odyssey and the Galaxy series.

From Void Co.’s corporate villainy to Pauline’s musical awakening, molten-banana endgame chaos, and Donkey Kong’s most expressive makeover yet, we break down everything this jungle odyssey throws at you.

Expect discussion on DK’s new animations, modern Nintendo design philosophy, the “layered planet” level structure, unique power-ups (yes, including the emu/ostrich), sound design that absolutely slaps, and why every rumble, bongo and “OH BANANA!” feels so good in the hands.

We also get into:

• The Mario Odyssey DNA running through Bananza’s gameplay loops
• The new villain Void Kong, plus his hench-Kongs: Grumpy & Poppy
• Pauline’s redesign, voice arc, and jazzy endgame performance
• Level references to the original arcade Donkey Kong (those cave paintings!)
• K. Rool’s big return and the molten-banana showdown (light spoilers)
• Why boss fights are beautiful—but surprisingly easy

The tonal balance between kid-friendly chaos and nostalgic DK weirdness

And yes, we absolutely discuss the DK timeline, why you need to “touch grass” if you care too much about it, and Nintendo fans collectively losing their minds at Poppy Kong’s design.

If you love gaming podcasts, Irish gaming podcasts, Nintendo reviews, retro-inspired platformers, or simply hearing two grown men lose it over potassium content… this episode is for you.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Unskippable Dialogue, Pearse dives Pokéball-first into the neon-lit alleyways of Lumiose City as we unpack the chaos and glory of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. From its bold urban redesign to real-time battles that have us ducking for cover, we break down what makes this Kalos comeback both brilliant and slightly bonkers. Yes, we’re looking at you, Mega Starmie.

We talk rogue Megas, battling after dark, and exactly how many hands Mega Eelektross needs to start a fight. There’s a full rundown of the newly introduced Mega Evolutions – including the weird, the wonderful, and the “what in Arceus’ name is that?” – as Pearse gives his definitive Smash or Pass verdict. Don’t worry, Mega Froslass fans, we see you.

Expect dry humour, heavy Pokédex lore, and enough Irish sarcasm to knock out a Tauros.

UD is a weekly Irish gaming podcast serving up honest game reviews, deep dives, retro throwbacks, and sharp commentary on the world of gaming.

Follow us:

Ig – https://instagram.com/unskippabledialogue

X – https://twitter.com/unskippabled

TikTok – https://tiktok.com/@unskippabledialogue

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UnskippableDialogue

Sign up at https://www.unskippabledialogue.com for updates, giveaways, and exclusive content.

Contact: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.