Beat of the Month: Video Game Podcast

Is there anything more monumental than a console launch? Birth of a child? Wedding day? Debatable for sure. The Beat of the Month crew reflect back on their favorite console launches and some that were maybe best left forgotten. We weren’t quite old enough to get the early systems day and date with release, but we’ve got several stories to tell starting with the Dreamcast and wrapping up with the...

For this episode, the tarnished Beat of the Month crew assemble to discuss our initial impressions of Elden Ring! We've all played 20+ hours into the game, but we are just scratching the surface of what this massive open world adventure has to offer. We'll be back in a future episode where we will dive into more details, but for this episode we kept things spoiler free. We all have little to no ex...

The Beat of the Month crew are back to their regularly scheduled themed program after Elden Ring tossed a fire giant sized wrench in the usual plans. We return with a look at a genre which has grown to prominence - Metroidvanias! We take some time at the start to reflect on what is it about this genre that is special and keeps people coming back for more. Then we talk about the recent Metroidvania...

Ever play a game where you can't wait to get back to that one level? You know, that one level that stands out above the rest of the game as something special? This episode the Beat of the Month crew explore their favorite levels in gaming history! There's a lot that goes into what makes a great level and we've got examples ranging from old classics like using Kuribo's shoe in Super Mario Bros 3, a...

The Beat of the Month Crew take a look back at their experience with the Halo series. From the series’ roots before it was online up to the hopes and dreams to be satisfied by Infinite (maybe). Come reminisce with us as we share stories and thoughts from this 'legendary' series. Also be sure to check out Episode 4: First Person Shooters where we share more stories about our time with Halo 2!

The Beat of the Month crew is taking this episode to cheer up our buddy Moose who hasn't been able to join an episode lately. He'll be back in early 2023 for our celebration of Final Fantasy, and for this episode we've focused on games that Moose has enjoyed which includes Hades, Titanfall 2, Yakuza Like a Dragon, Halo Infinite, Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, and more! We also talk about some games...

This episode the Beat of the Month crew take a look into one of video gaming's most treasured franchises - Final Fantasy! During our trip down memory lane we cover at a high level the characters, the story, and the music across just about every mainline release. Sure we don't have a lot to say about games like FF II, but then again who really does. We also take a deeper look into FF VII Re...

For this episode of Beat of the Month we take a look at a theme that crosses over into many genres - Martial Arts! Fighting games, Beat em' ups, RPGs, and I'm sure many more. We take some time to discuss what is considered a Martial Arts game - is ClayFighter a Martial Arts game? We're a bit split on that one... And then as always we talk about some of the games we played including Sifu and Ghost...

It's been a long time coming, but the Beat of the Month crew have completed their journey with Kratos, Atreus, and more than a dozen supporting characters. We lived to tell the tale and will be sharing that with you - right now! We take a deep look into God of War Ragnarok including what's new from 2018, our favorite bosses and moments, an overview of the story, and more. There was a lot to rememb...

Since our last deep dive was hacking, slashing, and murdering anything in our way with God of War Ragnarok, we decided to slow things down a bit and pick a game that was a little more relaxing. For this episode we take a look at Abzu - an underwater adventure game released in 2016. Did the calming nature of this game soothe our hearts and win us over? Or did the more laid back gameplay not resonat...

This episode the Beat of the Month crew were dealt an idea from fan of the show Skeeter, so we shuffled up our backlogs and played some more games! That's right - this episode we are taking a look at Card Games! Collectible card games, traditional table card games...first person shooters? Anything goes if it has some cards in it! We take a look at a variety of card based games including Thronebrea...

With the last of the big USA based gaming magazines coming to an end, we decided it was a perfect time to look back at all the fond memories of not only Game Informer, but of all video game magazines. OK maybe not all (there were a lot!) but we do cover the heavy hitters - Gamepro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and of course, Nintendo Power. We also get into some lesser known magazines like Next Gene...

It's our first episode of 2025 and the beats crew are taking a look back at all the games we played in 2024! It's a packed episode kicked off with our annual award show and picks for best games of the year. We also reflect on our favorite gaming moments and run down the stats for all the games we played. Want more? We also unveil our new rating system that will take affect for 2025 as well as the...

We might be a day late seeing as this episode is posting April 1st, but this is our annual March Madness bracket, and it's a wild one! Instead of choosing a theme first and then selecting the 64 applicable items to battle it out, we instead choose 64 random gaming items and then decide what the theme is before the deliberations begin. So it's a mix of games, characters, systems, even songs...

Spring is here! Last year around this time we did an episode on Nature Games to celebrate the warmer weather, and this time around we are doing an episode on Bug Games! For some games with bugs as the main focus we've taken a look at PS5 launch title Bugsnax and Wii game Deadly Creatures. We also continue Spiral's journey into Naughty Dog games with his take on The Last of Us 2, and Melbro...

We are back from a one week hiatus, and to put your mind at ease we are taking a look at Cozy Games! If you're a long time listener you might recall we did an episode on Relaxing Games back on episode 31 & 32. What's the difference between a Relaxing game and a Cozy game you ask? We decided to explore that topic since some of us weren't sure there was a difference... We also talk a...

We've always thought of ourselves as a little Looney here at Beat of the Month, and this episode we decided to lean into that with an episode all about video games based on cartoons! We cover some old favorites such as Aladdin and The Lion King, some new cartoon based games like Bluey, and then a whole bunch of South Park games - 4 of them to be exact! Throughout the episode we also share a bi...

For this episode The Beats Crew put down their controllers and pick up their remote controls to watch the recently released show Secret Level. This new anthology show on Amazon features bite sized episodes with unique takes on 15 different games. The games range from old classics like Pac-Man and Mega Man, more modern offerings like The Outer Worlds and Sifu, and then some lesser known franchises...

It's early in the year and the Beat of the Month Crew are taking a look at all the games coming out in 2025. But to make things a little more interesting we are not just talking about the games - but drafting them! Just like you would for Fantasy Football, we are picking what we think will be the highest rated games of 2025 and choosing them to fill our roster of games. The rules are a bit dif...

Here at Beat of the Month we vote on a theme of the month each and every month (hence the title of the show) and then we play games on that theme. For this month the votes were tallied and the winner was...Dickcember. What exactly is Dickcember do you ask? Well that's a great question since even the people who voted for it don't know! What I do know, is we played games such as Sonic X Shadow Gener...

It's back to back bangers here at Beat of the Month with another deep dive for a highly successful game of 2024 - this time taking a look at Balatro! With an average playtime for each of our crew exceeding 50 hours, we take a look at what keeps bringing us back to play more of this poker themed rougelike. From jokers that radically change the way you play every game, leveling up your hands with pl...

Sony's 30th anniversary celebrations are underway and what better game to have an episode about than Astro Bot - a love letter to all of Sony's franchises! We dive into all the things that make the new Astro Bot game great - the cameos, the levels, the bosses, and more. We also discuss whether or not Astro will cement himself in Sony's legacy as well with a Game of the Year award. In addition to t...

We're a week out from Thanksgiving and soon we'll all be enjoying a feast of turkey with all the fixin's. Since our ancestors filled their Thanskgiving table the old fashioned way via hunting and fishing, we decided to have an episode focused on those topics as well - in a digital format of course. Well maybe not entirely digitally since some of the crew does have background with the outdoor arts....

What if you could only pick one game for each console - one game that would most represent that console? Would you pick the best game for the system? Would you pick a launch title that set the stage for the console? Would you choose a late release that showcased what the system was capable of? Would your decisions change if these games would be put in a box for aliens to open up 2000 years from no...

It's still the spooky season still y'all! In the past we've done deep dives on some truly terrifying games like Dead Space and Resident Evil. This time we're doing something a little different and exploring into the unknown to see why exactly kids love Five Nights At Freddy's. None of us have any first hand experience with the games and we decided to jump in head first - let's just hope we don't l...