The Free Cheese

This week on The Free Cheese, now we're running the show. As the WWE series makes its debut on the next generation (in 2006), we see what's different and what this era in simulation wrestling has to offer. We each take on the role of GM and work through a season of broadcast to find a new champion.

This week on The Free Cheese, sorry, but we're not on the menu. We set a new record for release time to ranking with Resident Evil Requiem, adding it to The List just over a month since its release. We discuss what makes Requiem different while still maintaining the series, how it drives the story forward, and share our favorite one-liners from Uncle Leon.

This week on The Free Cheese, let's push blocks against the current. We finally explore the depths of the ocean, taking control of Ecco the Dolphin in his titular adventure. We struggle with the game's difficulty but find ourselves continually enamored with its narrative and ambition. Matt finds the one change that could fix the game and we check in on the latest in clear-colored sodas.

This week on The Free Cheese, pretend it's season 9. We take a break from the weekly ranking of video games to reflect on the first quarter of the year. We discuss the games we've played for fun that we haven't talked about on the show, some of the news stories that have made an impact in 2026 so far, and then we reflect on the games we've added to The List.

This week on The Free Cheese, there's no movie? Just in time for the delayed release of the latest 007 video game, we wander back to the early 2000s to explore Agent Under Fire. We discuss the various mission types, how gadgets play into gameplay, and what makes a good James Bond video game. Then, we rank this entry on The List.

This week on The Free Cheese, I'm gonna make these cigarettes disappear. We take control of Sam and find out what happens when Shinji Mikami directs PlatinumGames' Bayonetta reimagined with some Gears of War. If that sounds like a lot of things happening at once, you haven't played Vanquish.

This week on The Free Cheese, it's kind of like F-Zero but not in zero gravity. We're traveling back to a peculiar video game entry in the F1 series of video games, where its main developer Codemasters merged the world of F1 with kart racing. Just in time for the start of the season, we take a tour around the world of F1 Race Stars and then rank it on The List.

This week on The Free Cheese, I'm only here for the bumper sticker. Just ahead of the launch of a long-awaited successor, we check out Bungie's Marathon from 1994 for an introduction to the series and what would inspire not only the upcoming extraction shooter, but what led to the world of Halo. We discuss our time with the game and reflect on other first-person shooters on The List .

This week on The Free Cheese, how high can you get? A true PlayStation classic joins The List this week as we discover Jumping Flash for our 650th episode. We discuss its release contextually against its contemporaries, share our time spent with the game, and talk about how it embodies the spirit of PlayStation.

This week on The Free Cheese, if you build it, will they come? How does the simulation genre stack up when things go vertical? Can we succeed in building and managing a resort in Hawaii or a business complex in Tokyo? Find out as Yoot Tower joins The List in this episode.

This week on The Free Cheese, we came out and played. What happens when a developer with newfound fame and respect gets to make a prequel to one of its favorite movies from 25 years earlier? We find out when we add another Rockstar game to The List and see what The Warriors was bringing to PlayStation 2 in the midst of Grand Theft Auto's rise.

This week on The Free Cheese, just like mama taught you. We wield the stylus to guide us through every recipe we can as we explore a Nintendo DS staple, Cooking Mama. Is this the perfect DS companion or just another bargain bin select? Grab your apron and find out!

This week on The Free Cheese, na na na na na na na. We're rolling everything up this week as Katamari Damacy joins The List. We discuss our favorite stages, how a video game can maintain engagement with a simple mechanic, and the importance of a great control scheme.

This week on The Free Cheese, Matt wants a game to be more like Mario Party. We work dilligently through a series of mini games to help the Tanamatsuri family get home for grandmother's birthday. As part of our deeper exploration of the PlayStation library this year, Incredible Crisis brings a series of unique gameplay challenges and ska to the platform.

This week on The Free Cheese, the year of the vampire. For the first game in Season 14, we explore the early 2000s by way of its vampire assassin, female lead character action hack-and-slash genre. Or as you might call it, Bloodrayne. We take Rayne on a journey around the world, one button at a time.

This week on The Free Cheese, 2026 begins! It is time for our favorite episode of the year, a look ahead at the year to come. We reflect on predictions made one year ago, then set our sights on the months ahead as hope is not yet dead. 2026 invites us to celebrate a number of anniversaries in video games, but which ones will make our dreams come true?

This week on The Free Cheese, 2025 is over. We talk about everything we didn't talk about during the podcast this year. We each share the games we played that weren't covered on the show, the obsessions we found ourselves sliding into, and how certain themes layered our year. Then, we look at some of the news highlights from 2025 and check in with each of the platforms.

This week on The Free Cheese, this is the end of right now but there is more to come! In the first half of our two-part Season 13 finale, we're looking back at the episodes from this year and the games we played. We take a look at The List in different formats, ranking it individually and by review scores.

This week on The Free Cheese, can't someone else do it? We celebrate the end of the quarter century and the return of Game Informer by reading its 92nd issue from December 2000. We explore its cover story, read through its letters, previews, and reviews. Then, we have a scavenger hunt through the magazine to discover some of what has been lost to time.

This week on The Free Cheese, did you know that cars blow up after just six punches? When Eidos set out to create a new Streets of Rage, Sega passed and instead we got Fighting Force. We play through its campaign, discuss how cool it is to pick up anything in the environment, and see how well this brawler holds up almost three decades after its release.

This week on The Free Cheese, we're going to China. We join up and play through the campaign of Resident Evil 6 cooperatively to see why this entry was so divisive at the time of its release. We discuss each of the campaigns in the game, what Capcom got right, and where we think the series started to drift too far away from its origins.

This week on The Free Cheese, we escape the demands of a raccoon tyrant. As our year of Animal Crossing comes to a close, we start by looking back at the game's changes and updates for the fall season. We share thoughts around the staying power of a living game like this and reflect on a full year of playing. Finally, we close out by ranking Animal Crossing on The List.

This week on The Free Cheese, don't drink the tea on Mt. Tigerwolf. We wander the world of Suikoden to collect the 108 Stars of Destiny and save the world. After years of hearing the fan adoration of the series, we finally see what Konami's exploration into the role-playing game has to offer. We discuss the little things that make Suikoden great, like its snappy menus and combat, as well as how mu...

This week on The Free Cheese, there's always a... wait. We explore Citadel Station in Nightdive Studios' remake of the seminal System Shock. We discuss the game's presentation and its reliance on your active participation as a player, as well as what that means in the long run.

This week on The Free Cheese, the Guild authorizes you to engage with this podcast. Monster Hunter Wilds launched near the beginning of this year and we jumped in together right away. In this episode, we cover our time with the campaign, what it's like to finally have crossplay and an open world in Monster Hunter, and how Monster Hunter Wilds handles teaching the game to new players.