How Long To Beat

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...

This week Paula’s been getting deeper in mafia business and repeatedly dying while trying to survive the apocalypse. Meanwhile Josh has been finishing off a co-op adventure and taking the time to tidy things up before falling further into the Rusty Lake universe. What really matters though, are the comfort games we hold dear to our heart, so we have a bit of a chat about some perhaps unexpected ti...

After the onslaught of demos in the last episode, things have relaxed a little and we have a handful of titles to talk about. What happens though, when you get overwhelmed with choice and have to decide what to play, or maybe you just can’t put down that hot new game in spite of other interests?! Our discussion this week focuses on gaming droughts and gluts, and our own experiences. Finally, it’s...

Get ready for a gauntlet of games to excite the senses! Josh got COVID and spent his time playing a lot of small games, while Paula polished off one she’s been working on for a while. Plus, the titles keep coming after Steam’s latest NEXTfest event provided a heap of interesting demos to try out, but were they really worth it? HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https:...

In this special irregular episode, we discuss the wide range of things we've learned from playing video games. The stories and experiences we've encountered through gaming are often a conduit to life lessons and discovering the world around us. They enrich our lives and teach us in unique ways that have lasting effects. HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https...

The Otome is strong with this one, as Paula stays hooked on threads and colours, while Josh has been coming to grips with pan-dimensional orbs and Tokyo-based hauntings with full mouse and keyboard support. Plus, this week we’re talking about some of those games that we love, but everyone else seems to hate, and why that could be. Followed by an unexpected result in this week’s guessing game! HowL...

It’s October, which brings the HLTB Triple Creature Feature for Game of the Month! Josh and Paula have a chat about the games featured for the month, and what the community are saying. Meanwhile, Paula starts theorising about sticks and strings, while Josh struggles against a janky little 3D platformer. Of course, none of that matters in the end, as it’s Paula’s time to try and gain an even larger...

What happens when you finish a meaningful gaming experience and are left with a void to fill? This week Paula and Josh discuss this phenomenon, along with their own ways of dealing with the end of a good thing. Meanwhile Josh has been getting emotional and is in love with a puppet, while Paula found herself stranded and poisonous, but still managed to protect her crown, in more ways than one. HowL...

After diving into the world of souls-bourne rings and knock-offs, this week Paula and Josh are talking about how far they’d go to “get good” and really put in the time to skill-up in difficult games. Then Paula comes in and shows just how good she is at guessing those games in our weekly guessing games… again. I mean, it’s getting ridiculous at this point… we need a nerf. HowLongToBeat forums - ht...

This week Paula has multiple games added to her retirement list, while Josh has delved into Todd Howard’s wonderful world of marketing BS. Together we have a chat about playing sequels, and whether it’s worth playing an entire series to get up to speed. Then of course, Josh attempts to follow up with a perfect guess after last week when Paula nailed the game and achieved a maximum score! HowLongTo...

We’re back to the regular programming this week, with a whole bunch of games to talk about and what Josh and Paula thought about September’s HLTB Game of the Month. Then hold onto your hats for a super epic edition of the game guessing game, where Paula goes into overdrive, but will she knock it out of the park, or struggle to find the right title?! HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com...

This week we bring you something different, with a very special guest: Dragonh. Can Josh be convinced that Nintendo have something interesting to offer? Hopefully we can all find out in this discussion about the whys and why-nots of getting into one of the oldest, and arguably most unique, gaming platforms available. HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord....

It’s been a productive week of game playing, so we have a few more titles to share, but what about avoiding spoilers and not giving away too much? Our discussion this week explores the perils of avoiding spoilers, both as a gamer, and as someone talking about games on a podcast. Then the episode concludes with our new guessing game, but this time Josh is in the hot seat and trying to figure out th...

We’re back with another week of gaming talk, and a special report from a game jam that Paula recently took part in. Plus, we take a new podcast game guessing game out for a test drive and see how it works! HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk Email - hltbpodcast@gmail.com Music – Ian Edward (intro/outro) and Abatage (incidental) Graphic design...

Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! Paula is back and is accompanied by new host Abatage a.k.a Josh. What better time to make some introductions, discuss what we’ve been playing, and put a challenge out to the HLTB community?! HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk Email - hltbpodcast@gmail.com Music – Ian Edward Graphic design – M4thew an...

The last episode of Season 2 is upon us. Once more, join Ric, Alex, and Paula as they discuss the games they’ve beaten/retired/played this week, as well as the past, present, and future of the podcast. Stick around for one final installment of How Long To Beat? The Game!... and stay tuned for Season 3! HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk Emai...

Welcome back listeners! As always Ric, Alex, and Paula talk about the games they’ve beaten/retired/been playing - with a rant about Paula’s new obsession -, and then talk about this week’s topic: early access. They then finish off the episode with the second to last round of HowLongToBeat? The Game!  HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk Email...

Welcome back listeners! This week’s topic - nestled between our regular beaten/retired/playing and HowLongToBeat? The Game! segments - sees hosts Ric, Alex, and Paula discussing the joys of holiday/summer gaming. Apologies, there was a small segment that got corrupted so you might hear a tiny skip during the topic! HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg...

This week’s episode description was *not* written by ChatGPT… But it could have been! This week’s topic - nestled between our regular beaten/retired/playing and HowLongToBeat? The Game! segments - sees hosts Ric, Alex, and Paula discussing the potential futures of AI in gaming. HowLongToBeat forums - https://howlongtobeat.com/forum Discord – https://discord.gg/v5F26Dk Email - hltbpodcast@gmail.com...