How Long To Beat

After a little break Josh and Paula are back and they’ve been playing a bunch of games since the last mainline episode. Josh has finally defeated the big boss at the end of his epic adventure, made friends with underwater aliens, and lost his way in the 40K universe. Meanwhile Paula has been chasing cats through time, stuffing dogs into boxes, and delving into a seriously old school dungeon crawle...

This week it gets personal with a special bonus episode within which Josh and Paula get to talk about one of their favourite games of all time. Except these games are perhaps not the most celebrated titles for various reasons, but they love them all the same. Maybe they can pique your interest as well? HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk Emai...

Sometimes a game can be so compelling that you can’t help but fire up the passion and go ham on everything you have to say. So it is with Paula’s current otome obsession, bringing an exclusive rant in today’s episode. There’s no discussion topic, there’s no time! Not when there are things that need to be said and stories that need to be told. Meanwhile Josh has completed a few titles this week, re...

This week Josh and Paula are making connections, building relationships, and hopefully growing into better human beings all round. As Paula continues to adventure in the kitchens of hell, Josh has been reconciling with relatives, bridging cultures, and bringing justice to paper cut-out animals. Never fret though, as the weird and wonderful keeps on going as they discuss what the term “indie” might...

Nothing beaten, nothing retired, this week has been all about progress. Paula continues to work her way through the layers and kitchens of hell, while Josh figures out strange languages, explores an underwater city, fights vampires, and rolls race cars. Then the discussion turns to those pieces of plastic that promise a new world of gaming and an extension to the immersive promise of interactivity...

The theme and topic this week is what makes a game worth the time and money it takes to experience whatever it has to offer. Is it as simple as a dollar-per-hour equation? Or are there other factors that come into play? Spoiler: of course there are! Meanwhile Josh has been fighting the jank of large late-game instability, while Paula gets into the groove of a new reality. Plus, could this be the r...

This week Paula and Josh are having some fun and have put together a little game-soundtrack-themed quiz to play. Will they be able to identify the game based on a short clip of music? Or will Josh fail to remember anything at all and maintain his idiocy?! Oh, and there’s the usual games they’ve been playing and the weekly guessing game as well… enjoy! HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.c...

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...