Episodes
It's time to revisit Elden Ring... again. Kirk, Maddy, and Jason are still obsessed with Shadow of the Erdtree (or should we say Scadu of the Erdtree?) and its sprawling new regions and dungeons. They talk about why they're captivated, what makes its level design so great, and those pesky quests that will lock you out if you breathe on them wrong.
Published 07/04/24
Kirk, Jason, and Maddy put on their finest Tarnished gear and get ready for a trip to the Shadow Realm. How does Elden Ring's big expansion compare to the base game? What's it like to revisit the game in 2024? And is it really too difficult?
Published 06/27/24
Kirk, Jason, and Maddy unwind from this year's not-E3 by getting back into it. They talk about the big Xbox showcase, the big Nintendo showcase, and some of the embargoed games they saw at Summer Games Fest, such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Star Wars Outlaws.
Published 06/20/24
LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES... it's Maddy, Jason, and Kirk! The gang talks about what we all saw at Summer Game Fest, what they played, and how much they miss E3. Plus: audience Q&A!
Published 06/13/24
It's time for not-E3 — aka Summer Games Fest — where the video game industry will once again convene on Los Angeles for a week full of game demos, trailers, and exciting reveals. Well... sort of. This week, the Triple Click gang talks about their hopes, expectations, and predictions for the weekend ahead. Plus: don't miss Triple Click live in Los Angeles!
Published 06/06/24
Where are all the pregnant video game NPCs? What happens when you grow out of a video game genre? And what's it like to be both friends and professional podcast coworkers? This week, the Triple Click gang opens up the mailbag for some wacky listener questions, and confesses that they're actually all secretly enemies.
Published 05/30/24
Kirk is back and there's much to discuss. This week, the gang does a lightning round of topics, from the fallout of the Xbox shutdowns to Assassin's Creed racism and Hades 2 and the plethora of other killer indie games that have come out this year.
Published 05/23/24
We need to go deeper.
Published 05/16/24
Kirk is out this week, so Jason and Maddy convene to talk about a grab bag full of topics including the Xbox mess, the Helldivers 2 debacle, and two games they're really enjoying: Hades 2 and Animal Well.
Published 05/09/24
Jason's been playing Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a game that feels a lot like Suikoden, which made the Triple Click gang wonder: how does nostalgia impact our enjoyment of video games? Can it make games better? Worse? Both at once? Let's discuss!
Published 05/02/24
When is video game lore good? When is it bad? This week, the Triple Click gang talks about Skyrim books, Elden Ring item descriptions, Destiny guns, and all the other delectable morsels of plot that exist underneath the stories of video games.
Published 04/25/24
Eight years after it first came out, Stardew Valley is still getting patches. But what's the deal with this one-man-developed farming simulator? How was it created, and what makes it so appealing? Allow us to explain!
Published 04/18/24
It's the 200th episode of Triple Click, and to celebrate, it's time for a mailbag! The gang answers listener questions such as "could we ever see gambling in video games?" and "are games really a waste of time?"
Published 04/11/24
What is "friction" in video games? We've got a taxonomy, of course! This week, the Triple Click gang talks about how Dragon Dogma 2 tries to push players away, the necessity of video game friction, and what it means when a game is impenetrable.
Published 04/04/24
Balatro is one of the best games of 2024 so far — and certainly the most addictive. This week, the Triple Click gang dives into the new poker roguelike and dissects what makes it so great. They talk about the three phases of Balatro players, the appeal of randomness, and the thrill of this game's parade of interesting decisions.
Published 03/28/24
Happy MaxFunDrive! This week, the Triple Click gang opens up the mailbag and takes some listener questions: Are libraries ethical? How bad will ads in video games get? And when does a game developer know if it's time to cancel a project?
Published 03/21/24
Jason, Maddy, and Kirk pull up their strategem monitors and dive into Helldivers 2. They share their favorite memeable moments, talk about the game's unique story, and dive into what does and doesn't work about the hit new game.
Published 03/14/24
Kirk, Maddy, and Jason travel back in time and make their way up Mt. Nibel for a deeper look at the stellar Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a game about traveling the world and playing animal soccer.
Published 03/07/24
Kirk, Maddy, and Jason return to the world of buster swords and moogles to hunt Sephiroth, trying not to get too distracted by all the minigames along the way. It's time for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake. How good is it? Let's discuss!
Published 02/29/24
Xbox recently announced plans to bring four games to PlayStation and Switch. But why? What's Microsoft's gaming strategy? And why are they even bothering to keep selling consoles? The Triple Click gang discusses.
Published 02/22/24
It's time to analyze roguelikes — the latest trend sweeping games from God of War to The Last of Us — as Kirk, Jason, and Maddy get ready to dive into a dungeon full of random levels, cool weapons, and permadeath.
Published 02/15/24
The Triple Click gang takes a look at Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the latest game from Rocksteady Studios and a new entry into the oversaturated "live service" market. They talk about why publishers love service games, superhero fatigue, and how this new Suicide Squad game came to be.
Published 02/08/24
Xbox laid off nearly two thousand people last week. Before that, Riot laid off hundreds more. Why does this keep happening, and how does it affect people's lives? This week, Jason, Kirk, and Maddy talk about the video game layoff epidemic and try to pinpoint the causes and effects.
Published 02/01/24
We have no objections to Ace Attorney, Capcom's brilliant series about lawyers attacking each other with dangerous weapons. To celebrate this week's release of the Apollo Justice collection (aka: Ace Attorney 4-6), the gang explains why this adventure game series is so appealing, from the zany courtroom antics to the truly absurd animations.
Published 01/25/24
Less than three weeks into 2024, we've already discovered what will likely be one of the year's best games: Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which the gang is loving. Maddy, Jason, and Kirk talk about the new game's satisfying platforming, the time-twisting story, and how it feels a whole lot like Hollow Knight.
Published 01/18/24