Episodes
On this big episode of The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson is joined by Kyle Hilliard, Leo Vader, Michael Huber from Easy Allies, and Jeff Marchiafava returning from paternity leave! We share our biggest predictions for Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest showcase and beyond before talking about Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the Nintendo Switch, weigh in on Ubisoft's XDefiant and Warner Bros.' Multiversus, JeffM talks about his paternity break games with Dragons' Dogma 2 and Dicefolk, and Ben...
Published 05/30/24
On this week's episode, Ben Hanson is joined by Haley MacLean, Jacob Geller, Kelsey Lewin and Michael Huber to unpack our full review thoughts on Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 from Ninja Theory and what it means for Xbox. Then Kelsey and Jacob rave about 1000xResist and Huber gushes about the Resident Evil throwback Crow Country. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community and award the iam8bit question of the week! You can win a prize and help make the show better by...
Published 05/23/24
On this week's episode of The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson is joined by Sarah Podzorski, Haley MacLean, Janet Garcia, and Jacob Geller to unpack the deluge of great games releasing in early May. We start out by talking about Ubisoft's reveal trailer for Assassin's Creed Shadows before diving into the surreal Nun-based adventure Indika, the amazing puzzles of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, the dark farming world of Echoes of the Plum Grove, and the keyboard-based dungeon-crawler Cryptmaster. Then...
Published 05/16/24
On this big episode, Ben Hanson, Leo Vader, and Kyle Hilliard are joined in the studio by MinnMax video editor and Game Informer associate editor Charles Harte to talk about an eventful week in the game industry. We touch on the official confirmation that the Switch 2 will be revealed before the end of Nintendo's calendar year before diving into the big news of the week: Microsoft making the brutal choice to shut down four of its game studios, including Arkane Austin (Dishonored, Prey,...
Published 05/09/24
MinnMax's Ben Hanson is joined by Haley MacLean, Kelsey Lewin, and Sarah Podzorski to talk about the early-access city-builder taking the world by storm called Manor Lords. Kelsey regales us with her thoughts on the new RPG Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, the spiritual successor to Suikoden. Then we review a real hidden gem from 2024 called Minishoot' Adventures that combines Zelda with a twin-stick shooter like Geometry Wars. Then we're joined by Lana Bachynski (associate art director at...
Published 05/02/24
On this week's episode, Ben Hanson is joined by Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, and Michael Huber to share their full thoughts on Stellar Blade for the PlayStation 5 (based on a code provided by PlayStation). Then Leo Vader join us to talk about the adaptation of Akira Toriyama's manga called Sand Land from Bandai Namco and Janet Garcia jumps on to talk about idle farming games, the delightful puzzle game Stitch, and Tales of Kenzera: Zau. Leo also talks about returning to Fallout 76 after the...
Published 04/25/24
MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Sarah Podzorski, Haley MacLean, and Jacob Geller unpack their favorite overall software of all time - sharing favorite likes AIM, LimeWire, ICQ, Eyewitness, and more. We also talk about returning to Elden Ring to prepare for the upcoming DLC, the Nintendo Indie World announcements, the delightful challenges of The Sims 1, and a whole lot more. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon and award the iam8bit question of the week! https://www.patreon.com/minnmax
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Published 04/18/24
On this week's episode, Ben Hanson is joined by Michael Huber, Leo Vader, Janet Garcia, and Kyle Hilliard to talk about Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft, the surprisingly great game reveals at the Triple-i Initiative Showcase like The Rogue Prince Of Persia, and returning to games we bounced off of previously like Respawn's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Monolith's Middle-earth: Shadow of War! Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community and award the iam8bit question of the...
Published 04/11/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On this week's episode, Ben Hanson, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, and Leo Vader share their darkest gaming confessions... things get interesting. Then we talk about the demo for Stellar Blade on the PlayStation 5, Pepper Grinder from Devolver Digital, and the overlooked gem Bramble: The Mountain King. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community (including a big one about Ken Levine's Judas) and award the iam8bit question of the week! You can...
Published 04/04/24
On this week's packed episode of The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson is joined by Sarah Podzorski, Leo Vader, and Haley MacLean to unpack exciting games on the horizon that you should keep on your radar. Then we talk all about the new Overwatch-like Marvel Rivals, Stardew Valley's big 1.6 update, Dragon's Dogma 2, Princess Peach: Showtime, Wildmender, and whether the South Park: Snow Day game is as bad as reviews are saying. We also check back in on Pacific Drive. Then former cohort Ana Diaz joins...
Published 03/28/24
MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Kyle Hilliard, Jacob Geller, and new temporary cohort Michael Huber from Easy Allies share their full thoughts on Capcom's excellent open-world RPG Dragon's Dogma 2, Princess Peach: Showtime on the Nintendo Switch, Rise of the Ronin on PS5, and a whole lot more. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community and award the iam8bit question of the week! You can win a prize and help make the show better by supporting us on Patreon and leaving a question!...
Published 03/22/24
On this week's episode of The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson is joined by Kelsey Lewin, Jeff Marchiafava, and Kyle Hilliard to talk about Unicorn Overlord from Vanillaware, get JeffM's take on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, dust off our Playdates for Mars After Midnight, go back in time and celebrate another interactive documentary with Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, and then we talk about the impact of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama's impact on the game industry. Then we answer questions...
Published 03/14/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On this week's episode, Ben Hanson is joined by Jacob Geller, Janet Garcia, and former cohort Suriel Vazquez! We kick things off by talking about the big reveal of Merchants of Rosewall, the game Suriel is writing over at Big Blue Sky Games. Then we unpack highlights from the Xbox Partner Preview, revisit Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in a spoiler-free conversation, rave about Astro Duel 2, and a whole lot more. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by...
Published 03/07/24
On this week's episode, MinnMax's Ben Hanson is joined by Haley MacLean, Leo Vader, and Jeff Marchiafava to talk about Pacific Drive, Penny's Big Breakaway, and somehow rave even more about Balatro. Oh, we also squeeze in some Age of Empires talk before Sarah Podzorski joins the show to talk about Bandle Tale and League of Legends. Then Blake Hester jumps in to talk about being laid off from Game Informer and his current thoughts on the game industry landscape. Then we answer questions...
Published 02/29/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! This is a big one, as Ben Hanson is joined by Jacob Geller, Janet Garcia, and Kyle Hilliard to finally talk about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. This is a 100% spoiler-free review of Square-Enix's new RPG. Then we unpack everything wild about the reveal trailer for Elden Ring's expansion Shadow of the Erdtree and all of the highlights from the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase. Then Leo Vader and Jeff Marchiafava join the show to rave about the poker-based...
Published 02/22/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On this big episode, Ben Hanson, Leo Vader, Kyle Hilliard, and Janet Garcia recap and debate Microsoft's Official Xbox podcast that addressed the rumors that Xbox was going third-party and abandoning exclusives forever and they talk about what it means for the future of the platform. Then we gush over Sony's Helldivers 2 and why it succeeds as a co-op game before talking about Foamstars and Helskate. After that, Kelsey Lewin, Charles Harte, and Elise Favis...
Published 02/15/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On this week's big episode, Ben Hanson, Janet Garcia, Kyle Hilliard, and Jeff Marchiafava listen back to their incredibly accurate predictions from 2023 before lobbing bold, new predictions for the game industry in 2024. We carve out time to ensure we correctly guess the name for the follow-up to the Nintendo Switch. Then we talk about playing the demo for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and beyond at a press event and what we think about Square-Enix's middle...
Published 02/08/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On this week's episode, Ben Hanson, Kyle Hilliard, Jacob Geller, and Janet Garcia unpack the highlights from Sony's big State of Play where they showed new trailers for Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Rise of the Ronin, Silent Hill 2, Metro in VR, and a ton more. Then we're joined by the founder of Double Fine Tim Schafer to talk about Day of the Devs and then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community and award the iam8bit question of the...
Published 02/01/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On this week's episode, Ben Hanson is joined by Kelsey Lewin, Kyle Hilliard, Jacob Geller, and special guest Michael Huber from Easy Allies (who is hosting Monday's episode of Trivia Tower) to talk about Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on PlayStation 5 (codes provided by Sony), and the wild phenomenon of Palworld on Steam and Xbox. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the community and award the iam8bit question of...
Published 01/25/24
MinnMax's Ben Hanson, Janet Garcia, Jeff Marchiafava, and Haley MacLean unpack the best moments and highlights from Microsoft's Developer Direct for January of 2024. They talk about the new gameplay shown for Obsidian's Avowed, the release date for Hellblade II, and the extended first real look at Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Then they share their full thoughts on Ubisoft's excellent 2D Metroidvania Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Then we answer questions submitted on Patreon by the...
Published 01/19/24
Welcome back to The MinnMax Show! On the first episode for 2024, Ben Hanson (currently remote from Puerto Rico) is joined by Sarah Podzorski, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, and Leo Vader to talk about the surprising games we all played over holiday the break. We dive into the timelessness of Chrono Trigger, Leo gushes more about The Finals, and Sarah explains why House Flipper 2 is better than the first. Oh, also Kyle talks about catching up on the great games of 2023 by playing Star Wars Jedi:...
Published 01/11/24
This is it. It's time for the grand finale for MinnMax's Game of the Year debate, which we call The Two Tens. Ben Hanson is joined by Leo Vader, Janet Garcia, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, Kelsey Lewin, Jeff Marchiafava, Haley MacLean, and Sarah Podzorski to finalize the correct order for the 20 best games of 2023. Will Baldur's Gate 3 defeat Alan Wake 2? Should The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom be MinnMax's Game of the Year? How much can one person's passion carry a game up the list?...
Published 01/04/24
Welcome to the start of The Two Tens: MinnMax's big Game of the Year debate! Ben Hanson is joined by Leo Vader, Janet Garcia, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, Kelsey Lewin, Jeff Marchiafava, Haley MacLean, and Sarah Podzorski to lock down the greatest games of 2023. We start out by building the full list and then start cutting it down to The Two Tens, otherwise known as the Top 20 games of 2023. We'll be back next week with the grand finale! If you enjoy this episode, please tell a friend or help...
Published 12/28/23
On this big episode of The MinnMax Show, Ben Hanson is joined by Janet Garcia, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, Kelsey Lewin, Jeff Marchiafava, Haley MacLean, and Sarah Podzorski to celebrate the year of gaming in 2023. We nominate, debate, and finalize winners for the categories of Best Thing, Dumbest Thing, Biggest News, The Game We All Agree Is Probably Good But We Didn't Play, Best Character, Best Moment, and The Greatest Work Of Art Of All Time... for 2023. If you enjoy this episode, please...
Published 12/21/23
On this week's episode, Ben Hanson is joined by Jeff Marchiafava, Janet Garcia, and Jacob Geller to share our final thoughts on new games in 2023 by talking about God of War's new roguelike DLC, why JeffM rage-quite Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, falling in love with LEGO Fortnite, and more. Oh, and Janet talks about visiting Ubisoft to play three hours of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown! Then we're joined by a generous donor during our Give To The Max charity stream named Haley De Boom to...
Published 12/14/23