How Long To Beat

Every week Josh and Paula talk about the games they’ve been playing and what’s new in their gaming world, but in this special bonus episode, they get to talk about their favourite games of all time.  Strap in for some spicy picks and discover some pure gems! HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠https://howlongtobeat.com/forum⁠ Discord – ⁠https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk ⁠Email - ⁠hltbpodcast@gmail.com ⁠Music – Ian E...

A new week is upon us and a new episode has landed! Find out about Paula’s return to some of the more toxic corners of gaming on the internet, along with the wholesome conclusion to an excellent little cultural masterpiece. Witness Josh’s insufferable unwillingness to figure out who developed what in the deep mud trucking game series that he’s been ploughing for the last couple of weeks. Then get...

It’s been a long week of gaming and Josh has managed to finish off a few titles that he’s been working through for a while. On the other hand, Paula is still chipping away at a few core games that have been getting better and better as she continues to dive into strange worlds and traffic control systems. The topic for discussion this week is the April Game of the Month over on HLTB, including thi...

Have you ever reached that point in a game where you find yourself wading through pages and pages of instructional wikis, in an attempt to discover some indication of how to make some kind of progress? This week Paula and Josh are talking about so-called “wiki games” that keep their cards a little too close to their chest. Before that though, Paula has continued her conquering ways and emerged vic...

All hail the great leader! Paula has been on a rampage, conquering the world and gaining power until every other nation pledges their loyalty at her feet. Also, Josh retired another game and has been messing about with his PC hardware like a big nerd thanks to some over the top clock speeds heating things up to the point of no return. This week the topic is all about modding games and some favouri...

The streak has been broken, as Josh finally retired a game this week! There’s still a lot to talk about as he and Paula have been beating and playing a bunch of other titles, including one that they played together along with some friends from HLTB. Then get settled in because this week the discussion focuses on what it’s like to be a gamer from the perspective of a girl. Naturally Paula takes us...

While Paula has stuck to a couple of longer-term adventures, this week Josh has been completing a bunch of shorter games and demos, while dipping a toe into the zombie apocalypse of the old west. Then it’s Game of the Month time again the discussion turns to Return of the Obra Dinn, which is ultimately a chance to raise Paula’s interest in playing it for the first time. Although, not before Josh a...

This week Josh and Paula have been travelling through the same Rusty Lake game, while exploring other strange worlds and stretching their brains into recursive logic and world-wide disease manipulation. It’s been a bit of a week. However, all that is nothing compared to HLTB meeting an impressive milestone and prompting a discussion about how our hosts came to the site and how they use it. Finally...

The nostalgia is strong again this week as Josh and Paula continue their trip down memory lane and discuss a number of games that may or may not hold up by today’s standards. Plus, they attempt to determine which elements might hold a game back, and why others manage to stay timeless and strong forever. Of course, they also have a good chat about the games they’ve been playing and see if Paula can...

This week Paula has been beating all the games and playing even more, while Josh continues to work through the same old titles, plus a couple of new ones. There are clubs and deportations, cowboys and bears, even some angry organs and walls made of flesh. Then they get all “back in my day” and discuss some of the big changes that have happened over the years and what they think gaming might be lik...

In this episode Paula and Josh have been spreading their wings and trying out a bunch of different games. Paula has been surviving through different world’s that may or may not be trying to kill her, while Josh has been moseying down memory lane and getting a bit retro and nostalgic. Quite the contrast to our topic of the week, which is the recent Steam NextFest, and we have a bunch of fresh demos...

This week we get all romantic and have a big chat about everything Otome, Romance, and Valentine-related in video games, but not before we delve into everything we’ve been playing. Paula has levelled up her football skills while dealing with VIP clients and Pokemon Banks. At the same time Josh fought a giant foot, a tall ghost woman, and was swept up in the cringe of teen angst. Can he get over it...

Josh has been drooling over some smooth animations this week, while puzzling in three dimensions and fighting for justice! Paula has spent her time investigating crime and appearing in court, before playing bouncer and turning children away from British clubs and pubs. They follow it all up with a weekly topic, focusing on physical gaming and the experience of actually buying games in Chile and Au...

This week we’re talking about some Kickstarter and crowd-funding stories from the past and Josh gets quite fired up over a few specific examples; so strap yourself in for a rant a half. Meanwhile Paula has been reliving some glory days in the courtroom and Josh has been jumping between classic point-and-click adventures, Netflix mobile games, and a classic sim-racer (all of which are completed gam...

We’re back to regular programming again this week as Paula tackles another series of Otome routes, while Josh gets stuck into a couple of mysteries and some point and click adventures. With only one retirement and a few more on the go, it’s time for the winner of our guessing game to pick a title for the other to play, before kicking off a new round with a fresh guess. Will Paula take an early lea...

For this special episode, Josh and Paula are joined by Knalb, the Lord of the Threads, to discuss the HLTB Game of the Month games that featured in 2023. We discuss the highs and the lows, the good and the bad, and the long and the short, as we delve into the last twelve months of communal gaming experiences. Then we draw 2023 to a close with a quiz on the stats and data that has been teased from...

Back with a long list of games played over the New Year/ Xmas break, Paula and Josh get stuck into some highs and lows of their gaming lives of recent times. Then they have a chat about Special and Limited Edition games that come with all those fun collectibles, or disappointing tat. Finally, Paula puts Josh to the test and we find out who has managed to win this round of the guessing game! HowLon...

In this bonus episode, Paula and Josh discuss what it’s like to enter the world of gaming as a brand new gamer. What kind of barriers exist and what do developers assume players already know? What kinds of experiences are a good way to introduce someone to a brand new concept? Would you give that game to your child? All this and some extra tangents can be found within. HowLongToBeat forums - https...

The year is ending, so we’re going big and rolling out our Game of the Year Extravaganza! Featuring a bunch of our friends from the HLTB community who happened to wander by and offer their own perspectives on the year that’s been 2023. To everyone listening, we wish you a happy new year and hope that 2024 is an awesome time for all. Strap yourself in… this is a big one! HowLongToBeat forums - ⁠htt...

It’s the night before Christmas and we have a delightfully packed holiday themed episode for you today. Josh has finished off a few games, and been thrown in the deep end of running a galactic empire, with dubious results. While Paula has been solving cases and getting close to some pigeons with ulterior motives. Thankfully though, all is saved when we discuss the kinds of holiday-specific games a...

As itchmas comes to a close, Josh has been playing more little itch.io games, along with the usual adventures that never seem to end. Meanwhile Paula has completed a few games that she’s been working on for a while now, and getting back into others that were finished long ago. Plus, it’s Game of the Month time again and the classic FPS Half-Life is on the table, ready to be dissected and considere...

As the end of the year draws ever closer, we have a look whether we succeeded with our gaming goals for 2023, as well as setting new ones for 2024. Meanwhile, Paula has been on an emotional rollercoaster while laser focused on her latest Otome. In contrast, Josh has played a whole heap of different games, including some Itchmas in July titles and some fresh takes on alternate media. Then we wrap e...

This week Paula and Josh have completed the same cat-themed time-travelling hidden-object game, but not a lot else. Once again they’ve avoided retiring anything, but Paula has been playing with clones, while Josh skated his way through some sentimental adventures in growing up. Finally, with the end of the year closing in, we have a chat about the HLTB Fantasy Critic League before Josh attempts to...

Glory to Paula, as she deals with suspect documentation and terrorist cells at the border; while Josh hacks his way into some kid’s chat logs, and fights no good darn dirty soviet robots. Then they both get stuck into the undeniable impact Undertale has had on gaming…along with their own thoughts and hot takes on this Game of the Month. Finally, can Paula solve the conundrum that is perhaps the mo...

As Josh fumbles around with PC hardware and cobbles together this edit, Paula has been expanding her horizons and trying new things in the world of gaming. Meanwhile Josh actually finished a few short adventures, a pretty bad racing game, and a brand new climb to the top of a very nice mountain. Back in the real world, Paula has been enjoying a symphony of video game classics, prompting a chat abo...