Epic Free Game Reviews

Episode 19: Overcooked! - Clack Your Tongs, Masculine Onion Man

In this episode, we explore the game that Epic gave away for free from July 4 to July 11, 2019, the 2016 cooking sim game Overcooked! We discuss real world cooking, being alone in a failed kitchen versus bothered in a successful one, multiplayer games, the evolution of gaming hardware, and how we feel about onions. 

Episode 18: Last Day of June - No Eyes, So Creepy (Also, Screw You Ted Hughes)

In this episode, we discuss the game Epic gave away from June 27 to July 4, 2019, Last Day of June. We focus on the aesthetics and styles of games, life as a form of tragedy, and sound and music. The made up language used in the game also brings us to a tangent on the fact that...musicians like Katy Perry have recorded their songs in Simlish. Join us for this episode on a game that Ray calls the "Italian Final Destination"

Episode 17: Rebel Galxy - Tokyo Drifting in SPAAAAACCCE!!!!

In this episode we discuss Rebel Galaxy, which Epic gave away from June 20 to 27, 2019. We cover topics that range from the scope of games to the use of music and voiced dialogue. We also, because of the development history of the game, talk about toxicity in gaming and the hatred of the Epic Games Store. 

Episode 16: Enter the Gungeon - A Very American Game

In this episode we discuss the 2016 game Ebter the Gungeon, which Epic gave for me free from June 13 to June 20, 2019. Through this game, we discuss repetition and progress in games, guns as symbolism, and what it means to be an "okay" game, among other topics. Also, circles and coughing skeletons, again! 

Episode 15: Kingdom New Lands - Secretly there is a tyrant in me

In this episode, we cover the game Epic gave away from June 6 to 13, 2019, the (what we describe as) anti-Civ game, Kingdom: New Lands. In the discussions we cover the American Dream, the city and civilization builder genre, and the economics of games (including a slight detour about Xbox's current problems)

Episode 14: City of Brass - No Utopias Here (Where are the Turkeys?)

In this episode, we discuss the dungeon crawler game City of Brass, which Epic gave away from May 30 to June 6, 2019. We discuss whether the game industry is oversaturated, the corporatization of the different components of gaming, and the politics behind game reviews.

Episode 13: Rime - It All Goes Back to Poop

In this episode, we talk about Rime, a 2017 puzzle adventure game that Epic gave away from May 23 to May 30, 2019. We both thoroughly enjoyed this game, although we do talk about motion sickness and 3D space. We also discuss the role of silence and voice in games, the omnipresence of circles, and the cute culture of games

Episode 12: Stories Untold - Bring Back Knobs!

In this episode, we discuss the twelfth game Epic gave away (from May 16 - May 30, 2019), the narrative adventure game Stories Untold. We discuss the literary elements of games, how we feel about horror as a genre, and moralizing in video games, among other conversations. 

Episode 11: World of Goo - Be Goo(d) to Mom

This episode covers the 2008 puzzle game World of Goo, which Epic gave away from May 2 to May 16, 2019. This game allows us to re-consider the gendered politics of indie games, explore the boundaries between mobile and other games, and think back on the political climate that existed during its release (and unexpected comparisons to Bioshock emerge!)

Episode 10: Transistor - Eat the Rich

In this episode we discuss Transistor, which Epic gave away from April 18 to May 2, 2019. We focus on defining the boundaries of the RPG genre, discussing how 2014 was an important moment in the history of gaming more broadly, and comparing Transistor to other Supergiant games. Since both of us have also played Transistor years ago, we also consider the role memory and aging have on how we approach games. Trigger warning: due to the nature of the game's themes, we do discuss suicide in this episode.