The Grinding Gear Podcast

We’re cross-aisle, breaking down barriers, and having a lovely time doing it. On this week’s episode, Taliesin, half of Taliesin and Evitel, joins the show to discuss content creation, Final Fantasy 14 story, and WoW’s pursuits of that story. Taliesin streamed FF14 at the height of the “exodus” and had quite the journey. There’s no stopping this storytime.

2024 is feeling a whole lot like 2023 with layoffs continuing in the games industry. We take some time to talk about how the continuing cascade of lost jobs have now reached Riot and Blizzard, the Pokemon Company looking at getting legal with Palword, a cancelled Final Fantasy XIV live-action television adaptation, and which one of us is the best vocalist.

On this Monday episode of Grinding Gear, the new time btw: Palworld has taken the steam by storm, but is plagiarism afoot? Is Ai the villain in this tale? Is it really hard not to call them Pokemon. We are the judge! Garrett and Kyle also tell the tales of their many watchings and playings over the holiday break. Garrett is smitten by Freiren. Kyle’s friends conspire to get him a Tyranid army read...

Kyle and Garrett are in the house! Together! Join us for our first post-move podcast from Garrett’s redesigned studio space. Hear all about what happened during our break as Kyle moved and Garrett moved things out and into his studio. Also, is Indiana Jones shaping up to be an exciting game? The Xbox Developer Showcase gave everyone their first peak into it.

The Grindys, The Golden Gears, Best of 2023. This is the final official podcast record for the year 2023, and we have our own LEGALLY DISTINCT accolades to hand out. An absolute banger of a year for video games comes to a close. Who will win “Best I Think It’s an Indie game” and who will walk away with Brightest Dumpster Fire. While there may be some bonus shows on your feed, we will see you in 20...

Technically the podcast never left but we're back! Kyle has returned from his Jury Duty exile. The internet has continued to do what it does and Garrett’s got all the goods lined up. Twitch has set new rules regarding what has become known as the “Topless Meta”. The Video Game Awards continue to make dramatic waves as views argue over format and speech timers. In a real shocker, Kojima wants to ma...

What a week! The bromance content has been upended due to jury duty. But we’re not going to let that stop us from getting up very early (EXTREMELY early for Kyle) and having a chat about this year’s Game Awards! Later in the show we also get into how jury duty has impacted our end-of-year schedule and how we’ve surpassed every goal we’ve set thanks to the gearbox!

The Holidays are incoming. Garrett and Kyle return from Thanksgiving festivities to bring you all the important happenings from the dinner table! Bungie is messing it up again, but we don’t have time for that. Fallout has a tv show incoming and it’s canonical. See the return of HOT TAKES as we collect your HOTTEST TAKES from the internet, we call it Unpopular Opinions, but we all know what they ar...

It’s a Grinding Gear Thanksgiving! The podcast records early this week as we’ll both be out the rest of the week for the holiday! Join us as we give a Bromance Studio update, talk Scott Pilgrim, WoW Classic Hardcore, FFXIV Endwalker, and share our holiday traditions.

We have gathered an ELITE team of current, former, and cautious World of Warcraft content creators for our post-BlizzCon round-table. Previous GG guests Preach, Okaymage and Jesse Cox all make a triumphant return to talk WoW’s announcement for an upcoming and ongoing 5 year story. Blizzard has planted a flag, a beginning, middle, and end. A total rework of their narrative process with evergreen co...

A packed week means a packed show. A Zelda Movie? Grand Theft Auto 6? Transparent MMO Design? What do all these things have in common? They all happened this week. Garrett is back in the World of Warcraft and for Retail no less with the Season of Discovery around the corner. If there is a fence, Kyle is behind it, maybe even still purchasing the wood. Remakes, remasters, 2024 incoming, and more.

Immediately following the BlizzCon Opening ceremony live watch, Garrett and Kyle take a seat to talk about the hits, misfires and mysteries. It should be no secret that you won't be hearing much about the Overwatch news. Diablo was also limited. The biggest hitter was the Warcraft section which features a Co-op Hearthstone Battlegrounds Mode, and a three expansion plan for the games narrative goin...

We may be cross-country again, but we are ever so close to our goals! This is the Grinding Gear Podcast. Travel meant movie time for Kyle and he was delighted by a certain reference in Mutant Mayhem. Garrett turns back the clock to talk about the ABK Acquisition. Speaking of that clock, Heroes of the Storm received a sizable PTR patch. Mostly bug fixes, but many will absolutely affect balance. Is...

What a week! We have announced The Bromance Studio. The big drive is underway. Podcast will soon be recorded TOGETHER and oh so much more. In this episode you will learn all about the Studio plans, how long we’ve had to keep this secret and so much more. Kyle had trouble picking a publicly played plane game. Garrett has continued his Cyberpunk journey. You might learn something. You might learn mo...

Okaymage, WoW caster and FF14 streamer, joins the episode! Okaymage has been on quite the content creation trajectory and is here to tell her story. With no RPG experience, coming straight from League of Legend to World of Warcraft, and making Frost Mage guides, she has developed a massive following due to her MSQ streams. Join in for the takes, the licks and the minty fresh podcast.

A guest filled episode of Halloween gaming and Hot Takes! Grinding Gears own moderator, Dirty 30’s Reviewer (more incoming) and CEO of the House Kristen Ashton joins the episode, along side the MSQurator Jon Jagger. After hearing the previous Unpopular Opinions game, both were eager to take the stage and face their own pile of HOT TAKES!

Endy_D20, FFXIV streamer, previous WoW player, forever Dungeon Master and surprise Heroes of the Storm fan, joins the podcast today! A much requested guest who just wrapped his playthrough of the MSQ, Endy is the perfect guest for a thoughtful week in the MMO sphere. Chris Metzen returns to the WoW team, sparking a whirlwind of conversation across the internet. MMOs have tight competition in such...

The bountiful riches of video games and adjacent content as we GRIND through the end of your week. Cyberpunk 2.0 is out and they want you to start a new game. Onimusha is getting a Netflix adaptation, with mixed reactions. Lies of P has a special sauce, and we’ve got a review from the Fromsoft expert in these parts. Lastly, Final Fantasy 14 is putting out a Tabletop RPG, with an unknown system.

Nintendo’s Direct, Ahsoka, Starfield and Baldurs Gate 3 all make an appearance on this episode, but we know you’re really here for the HOT TAKES! We enjoy a new segment, based on our recent stream, where we judge your HOTTEST TAKES from games to movies, to music. Naturally we address the Unity situation, but we are not lawyers so we will leave that ongoing conversation to the professionals.

We field your questions and field the STARS! Starfield is out for the wide public and you won’t believe it, but Garrett is in love. In fact, Kyle is on the back foot for this adventure. From bugs, ship building, IMMERSION and gunplay, we give you the big Starfield review. Supportourbromance.com or we’ll keep the planets PNG images.  

Starfield is almost upon us and the embargo has been lifted. Will we make SPACE for this monumental game amongst the awesome releases of today? It is yet to be seen. Armored Core 6 has taken the hosts by storm and a meaty spoiler-free discussion ensues. D&D, Dark Forces, movies and more. Supportourbromance.com or we’ll make a trailer with our L1 sticks gently romanced.

A burden of riches is upon us! Baldurs Gate 3 keeps on giving, but there is even more greatness to be had. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk has smitten Kyle, and Garrett got the Gamescom coverage. Armored Core 6 is TOMORROW?! Mario is changing, Phil Spencer is confusing, and what a time it is. Emails and more! Supportourbromance.com or we’ll instant spawn cops behind a wall.

Mike aka Preach joins the episode! The 10-year veteran of MMO content creation broke free of World of Warcraft-only coverage in 2021 and has found huge success for him and his team, and he's here to tell the tale. Preach has had an almost identical adventure Garrett, going from WoW content creation to Final Fantasy 14, but will they agree on the worst and best parts? Kyle is here to stoke the fire...

The Gates are open. Baldur the Third is here. Reviews are off the charges and we are in love. Garrett and Kyle currently quest through act one and give you the spoiler-free lowdown on the internet darling, Baldur’s Gate. A surge of interest in D&D has followed as many try their hand at 5th edition rule. We’ve also been watching things, like Futurama, Justified, or Kyle's first viewing of Labyrinth...

Jon Jagger rejoins the show to talk Fan Fest 2023, Wrestling, Baldur’s Gate, Friendship and more. Garrett and Kyle fresh from their travel gauntlet share short-form stories of their adventures (see the Tuesday stream for the long form) and get the scoop for their eye in the sky, Jon who last minute could not attend. Batteries may be drained, music may be battle, but FRIENDSHIP REIGNS SUPREME!