Brain Lords: Video Games of the Mind

This week on Brain Lords shuffle up and let's duel, we’re talking card games! Why play a digital version of a game that is designed around its physical limitations? We discuss all the unique things that only digital card games can do. From Gameboy adaptations like Pokémon TCG, to 2000s genre bending spinoffs like Mega Man Battle Network, to the modern age of Slay the Spire inspired Rogue Like deck...

On this episode of Brain Lords we have a special treat for everyone, we take a break from being a panel-style discussion podcast about video games to become and actual panel about video games. Cursed Switch eShop Games to be exact! Join us as we remember our journey into the dark depths of the Nintendo Switch eShop! How can a game stand out in a sea of AI fueled sexy puzzle games? What is Italian...

This week on Brain Lords special guest MinovskyArticle helps us explore the lost art of the video game manual, the paper portal to the rules, themes, and stories of worlds beyond. Aka that thing you used to read on the way home from Blockbuster. Why did the manual die out and what is the future of guides? In this jam packed episode we spend over an hour alone gushing about some of the most breatht...

Times are hard right now so stop the doomscrolling and lets get COMFY! Grab your blanket and pull up a cozy game like Dark Souls and Silent Hill 2. Are we really turning our brain off when we play relaxing games like PowerWash Simulator, or is there more to it? We discuss everything from the games that helped us escape despite reminding us of what we were trying to avoid in the first place, to the...

Spring is here and it’s time for Ani-May. For a once-a-year special, we crossover into the world of animation. So many middling games are adaptations of anime but what about the other way around? We explore the obvious and not so obvious anime inspirations behind our favorite games. Musical guest bansheebeat helps us spot all the robot cyborgs that are just like our Japanese anime.    Questions, C...

Tired of the constant marketing, brand management, and style guides for the Square X Disney project, the Brain Lords decide they could do better making their own Kingdom Hearts levels! Special Guest Andrew Bluett helps us each design a world based on three categories, Disney Proper, Squaresoft, and anything-goes sicko mode picks. It’s Always Sunny, Pretty Woman, Ellen's Energy Adventure, The Bounc...

Questions, Comments, Suggestions? CONTACT US: brainlordspod@gmail.com   Kyle - Cute Monster Props    Jorge - JMV This week we have had it with everything from Schmoovement and Soulsborne games. No longer wanting to differentiate the “-likes” from the “-lites” we’ve taken it upon ourselves to rename the most troublesome game genres names. No more smashing -vania at the end of other words, we’re tos...

We had just finished recording our Brain Lord playthrough, when an unexpected guest arrived... This week on Brain Lords we seek an audience with non other than The BRAIN LORD. Y'know, He Who Sits On The Brain Throne. The ancient, interstellar extradimensional being that gives us all our cool takes on video games, and life advice. The Father and final form of our Podcast. Not the game, the guy. Tha...

There sure are a bunch of furry mascot characters in video games. Returning guest Oceanity helps us cover everything from platformer icons like Sonic and Sly Cooper, to modern day indies gems like Atlyss and Pseudoregalia. Are these characters just syndical cash grabs or do they appeal more to classic folklore than we often give them credit fur... err, for, excuse me.  Questions, Comments, Suggest...

This week on Brainlords we attempt to solve the origins of the khaki cargo shorts/green Zelda tee combo. Special guest Jiikae helps us dive into the clash between personal aesthetic and what marketers tell us our vibe should be. Would my life actually be better if I got the Kim Kitsuragi replica jacket? Terrible example, yes actually, it would. Questions, Comments, Suggestions? CONTACT US: brainlo...

As the N64 nearly turns 30, it’s fully moved on from a nostalgic console to a secondhand nostalgia console. What better way to celebrate it than a list of its top games with special guest Paper Dawn! But aren’t you tired of seeing the same handful of Nintendo and Rareware titles?  We’ve selected our best games with some extra challenging restrictions. Questions, Comments, Suggestions? CONTACT US:...

Happy one year anniversary Brainlords! On this very special episode, we actually PLAYED Brainlords. What does a scrappy little Zelda-like by Enix say in 2026 and what have we learned from the past year of podcasting? We discuss our favorite episodes and our biggest mistakes as we reflect on the state of video games criticism in 2026. Thanks for sticking with us or even just being a part of our fir...

Questions, Comments, Suggestions? CONTACT US: brainlordspod@gmail.com   Kyle - Cute Monster Props    Jorge - JMV Depending on who or when you ask, indie seems to be a genre, a scene, a vibe and a controversy generator for the game awards. Why can't we seem to find any common ground on a term that seemingly just means independently produced? In today's episode, we discuss the different qualifiers (...

This week on Brain Lords, sequels, remakes, and spiritual successors sure love to add more, but then why do we keep playing the original? We discuss the all too common additions that make their ways into flashy new games and when features like crafting, open worlds, and skill trees took an already perfect game and made it a little worse.  Questions, Comments, Suggestions? CONTACT US: brainlordspod...

Here it is, our 2025 games of the year…..oh crap we forgot to play any video games! This year join Kyle, Jorge, and special guest Esper Quinn (wahoo!) as your esteemed judges presenting their picks for Backlog games of the year. With so many good games, why did these must-plays just barely miss the mark for us? Enjoy such awards as “Best Game That Got Overhyped for Me and Now I’m Pushing Back on P...

This week on Brainlords we talk about our fascination with emulations from another nation. That's right, fan translations! Special guest Bowl of Lentils walks us through their work on the Sakura Wars 1&2 translation while we round robin our favorite games we could have never played without the fans doing it themselves. We talk the good the bad and the ugly, everything from selfless collaborati...

This week on Brainlords special guest Bobvids helps us on Part Two of our P.T. series discussing the current era of liminal spaces in games. Even Baby Steps and 1000xResist have looping hallways, so are the lessons learned from this ludonarrative only limited to scares? We discuss our hopes for the future of spooky games in this raucous conclusion to our horror retrospective.    Questions, Comment...

This week on Brain Lords we Present: Talking. In this Podcastable Teaser we bring on guest Super Bunnyhop to Parse the Terror still seen in P.T. For a game that doesn’t technically exist, Silent Hills completely reshaped the Playable Trauma of modern horror games. But was that always the case or does this Polished Take on Amnesia exist beyond its creators and controversy? Questions, Comments, Sugg...

This week on Brainlords we have a Halloween episode about drowning, being hunted, the dark, and the undead, all the hallmarks of our favorite…children’s platformers? Special guest Shannon Strucci scares us silly with stories of Spyro and Sonic being just as spooky as Silent Hill! How scary can a game be before it’s considered horror and why do so many games from our childhood leave us so traumatiz...

On the eve of the release of Pokemon ZA, fresh off a major leak, the Brianlords ask the question: does Game Freak deserve it? Your ire, your pity, and alllll of your sorrow, this company was once a shining example of an early Japanese indie and is now burning out its staff on an endless stream of Pokemon. We talk about the non-Pokemon Gamefreak games, the company’s history, and what it means to ha...

This week on Brainlords we complain about the price of games nowadays. But then why did the games of yesteryear feel like a better deal despite being $80 well before Mario Kart 8? Is there anything you can do to appreciate an artform that seems so designed to take most of your paycheck? And yet somehow indie games should honestly cost more! Find out why as we release this episode for the same pric...

This week on Brainlords we look back on the 8 years we’ve had the Nintendo Switch to determine what we'll be looking back on even later! We take a ~nostalgic~ tour through the final days of the WiiU, getting the console in its early years, the peak years of its greatest hits, playing during the pandemic, and the twilight years that preceded the Switch 2. Are these just rose (and blue) tinted glass...

This week on Brainlords we celebrate the final moments before Silksong can no longer be delayed. Jorge doesn’t get what the deal is with Silkposting while Kyle is removing the clown makeup as we speak. We go over the humble origins of Hollow Knight to discuss if it really is that good (yes) and how we got here with eight years of hype and memes. How has the Metroidvania genre fared since then and...

This Week on Brainlords, special guest Voidburger takes us on a scenic tour through Silent Hill. Some game theories seem to have a life of their own but what happens when that becomes the death of your enjoyment? Jorge discusses being secretly dead the whole time while Kyle explains why Pokémon is actually dark and twisted. Will this episode be a dream all along or a nightmare of fan theories?! Qu...

This week on Brainlords we’re upping the difficulty to Legendary! Why do we keep coming back to the only medium that you might not even be good enough to experience? We share our histories with Gamer Rage (tm) and discuss some games that are better for having all the hardest parts in the beginning in order to conclude which game is *perfectly* difficult. Questions, Comments, Suggestions? CONTACT U...