HPCritical

Happy Pride Month . The HPCritical podcast has lots of news to get through this week, and to do so they’re joined by Chris Penwell to get through it all. This week the podcast definitely has a focus on LGBTQIA+ issues within the industry, and what better time to discuss what the industry standards in diversity are today. From how Twitch is celebrating Pride, to the EA walkouts, and of course a loo...

Jerel is joined by HPCritical’s own Kristie for this special episode of the HPCritical Podcast. This bonus episode has two of the biggest Pokémon and Final Fantasy fans coming to give their reactions on everything shown in this week of gaming. If Summer Game Fest is anything like what we’ve begun to see, gamers are in for a serious treat for the near future of gaming. Here’s everything that happen...

Jerel, Gabe, and Kellie come together again this week to talk the latest in gaming news. This week though, the podcast crew does a bit of a derail with Jerel changing the conversation from gaming news into asking his cohosts to give advice on dating a gamer. From Summer Game Fest to the most helpful things to know when dating a gamer. Come have a listen. If you’d like to grab some podcast merch, c...

Joined this week by special guest Spencer Pennington , the HPCritical crew discusses the U.S. video game industry’s first major union. On top of that huge news, we also discuss The Sims 4 pronouns update, new info on Hogwarts Legacy , Apple , Amazon , and Disney supposedly in talks to purchase EA , and so much more. Have a listen. If you’d like to grab some podcast merch , check out our store and...

This week's podcast seemed to inadvertently focus quite a lot on PlayStation. There’s also enough news in the gaming sphere to fill an entire episode on diversity issues within the industry, and with episode 105 we try to capture both within our podcast timeframe. From the weird character diversity tool from Activision Blizzard, Fifa making their own games, computer viruses on Roblox and the PlayS...

Police interrupt the stream of a Trans gamer, Gotham Knights ditches last-gen, Summer Games Fest has a date, Square Enix sells off their western studios, Sonic has some new information and there’s so much more to discuss. Check out this week's episode of the HPCritical Podcast, where Brandon, Jerel, and Kellie dive into all of that and more. Come have a listen. If you’d like to grab some podcast m...

Square Enix doesn’t care about players according to Yuji Naka, the Balan Wonderworld previous director who has filed a lawsuit against them. Netflix is attempting to punish users who share passwords instead of fixing their issues, Dead by Daylight has its first official LGBTQIA+ character, and the HPCritical crew is joined by guest writer Rodrigo to discuss all of that and more. Come have a listen...

Probably the biggest news in gaming was the reveal of Kingdom Hearts IV. Of course, the week had a ton more gaming news, and the HPCritical crew is joined by Greysun to discuss some of the biggest events of the past week. Come have a listen to keep up with the latest in gaming news, and try your hand at video game 20 questions in the end. If you’d like to grab some podcast merch, check out our sto...

It’s time to celebrate 101 episodes with a nice little kickback and relaxing game night. No, not the type of games you’re thinking of. The HPCritical crew enjoys their time playing “Two Truths and a Lie” as well as “Video Game 20 Questions” to help ease into the next era of the HPCritical podcast. Let’s see how well the cohosts can do at some trivia.  If you’d like to grab some podcast merch,...

It’s been three years and 100 episodes and HPCritical is still going strong. To celebrate both the 100 episodes and the three-year announcement, the HPCritical leadership team got together to discuss their journey with games journalism within the industry. From conversations on their humble beginnings to the point they’ve reached today and the accomplishments they’ve achieved with HPCritical, come...

Another week of gaming news from the HPCritical Crew. We start off with some normal catching up, then we dive into the latest in gaming news for the week. This past week had some pretty big announcements to check out, and it includes some of the biggest names in gaming, whether through being famous or at this point existing in infamy. This week, look forward to conversations on the new PlayStation...

The HPCritical Podcast is now recorded LIVE on Twitch just in case you didn’t know. For this week, the crew (minus Gabe) is back and we talk the latest in gaming news. We’ve got lots of Microsoft news to cover, along with a question of the week, “when will games stop being time sinks?” Come have a listen and let us know your answer. If you’d like to grab some podcast merch , check out our store an...

Our first live podcast! Another week, another discussion by the HPCritical Podcast crew on the latest in gaming news. This week we discuss game difficulty, whether or not Mario Kart's DLC pricing is good, the woes of Babylon's Fall, and our thoughts on Hogwarts Legacy. Come have a listen. If you’d like to grab some podcast merch, check out our store and order your favorite items!  If you’d li...

Another week, another discussion by the HPCritical Podcast crew on the latest in gaming news. This week we discuss everything from PlayStation’s lawsuit to evaluating the latest State of Play, How Bra Sizes Work in reference to video game characters, criticism of female representation in Lost Ark, and we begin it all with our favorite Mario games and moments to celebrate Mario Day. Come have a lis...

The Switch has been out for 5 years now, and of course, the HPCritical Podcast Crew gives their thoughts on the Switch 5 years later. Not only do we discuss the anniversary, but we take a look at some of the latest news stories in gaming. Activision Blizzard blames Microsoft for not hiring women, Kotaku and its sister sites go on strike, Elden Ring publishers in Japan get monthly raises, and that’...

The HPCritical Podcast crew is finally back, and this week we take our time catching up with life. What was intended to be a look back at some of the latest gaming news turned into a discussion on burnout and how we handle it. Have you ever just not felt like gaming? Has life gotten in the way of your favorite hobby? Has gaming or whatever hobby you indulge in begun to feel like work? We’ve all be...

JRPG Club continues as the HPCritical JRPG crew traverse through Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. We’ve reached the second stopping point for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which was reaching the Ozmone Plains. Check out how we feel about the game and story so far. So the JRPG Club has made it to the Ozmone Plains in Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age and this checkpoint was quite a hefty one...

After a brief hiatus, the HPCritical Podcast crew is back to discuss all things Pokémon. Pokémon Legends Arceus has been out for a few weeks, and we’ve finally been able to convene and discuss the huge differences that come along with this new title in the franchise. Legends Arceus is like no other Pokémon title before it, and to truly give it the attention it deserves, we brought along Joey our H...

The biggest acquisition in gaming has taken place. Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard and a slew of other developers in the mix as well. Of course, the HPCritical podcast crew discusses this as well as Kingdom Hearts coming to Switch , Batman’s long runtime, new games coming to Nintendo Switch Online , the controversy surrounding Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga , the games coming to Gam...

Every episode that we’re joined by the incomparable Sterling is definitely going to be good fun. This week the podcast crew and Sterling (Retroware , JumpCutPlay ) himself discuss the latest in gaming news from Lego dropping Overwatch 2 designs, Microsoft discontinuing the Xbox One , FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida talking about game developers mental health, and we even discuss how many hours is jus...

Our first official HPCritical Podcast of 2022 is here, and we’re back to discussing the latest in gaming news. Lots of stories from our dear friend Wesley Leblanc over at Game Informer including the sales of Days Gone, and Sonic Frontiers being delayed. We also talk about some upcoming games releasing in 2022, the Harry Potter reunion, Sony and its war on crossplay, E3 shifting to a digital-only e...

2021 has finally come to a close, and what better way to look forward to the future than to look back at what we’ve done in the past. This year the gaming industry as a whole had some big steps and some missteps, with revelations, advancements, and a number of social issues tackled by the HPCritical crew and friends. Not only did we have a ton of controversial content to talk over for 2021, but we...

It’s been a while, but we’re back and better than ever. The HPCritical podcast crew reunites after a few weeks off to bring you the latest in gaming news and opinions. We take on more of the prevalent social issues in gaming from Forspoken’s misspoken and possibly offensive representation, Roblox and potential child exploitation, The Game Awards stance on harassment and issues within the industry,...

The Final Fantasy XII Journey Begins - A Sky Pirate’s Destiny HPCritical has created a JRPG club. As a book club would, we chose a video game, and we choose portions of it to progress through as we come together once a month to discuss the title. The next game the JRPG club chose to delve into is Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. This classic JRPG was divisive during its initial 2006 release, and...

This week the HPCritical Podcast Crew is back and tackling some of the more difficult topics in gaming news for this week. Topics for the week include G4TV coming to cable television, Twitch coming to the Switch, the delay of Final Fantasy XIV, the revealed cast of One Piece, Trans players responding to hearing their dead name announced in Forza Horizon 5 and so much more. Prepare to hear discussi...