Into the Aether - A Low Key Video Game Podcast

The AI running this moonbase hasn't responded for a few days, which is weird. I'm being sent up there on a mission to investigate the possible cause, but before I go I have one last thing on my agenda: Play a kickass rock song with the crew. Discussed: the p4g episode and the vita episode, Pragmata, the street sweeper, fighting games, Guilty Gear Strive 2.0, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the Persona sp...

Stephen and Brendon discuss the entirety of Persona 4 Golden and answer questions about friendship, social psychology, and what it's like to be a maligned cartoon bear in the human world. Discussed: Persona 4 Golden ITA's PS1 Playlist Matt Horton's video essay on P4G for Flow State "It's Time to Talk About it: Atlus, Naoto, and Transphobia" by Mattie Brice "Atlus, We Haven't Forgotten Your Mishand...

Surgeon General's Warning: Consuming Daruni-O's in any capacity can cause multiple health problems including chipped or broken teeth, stomach pain, or death. Do not consume Daruni-O's if human or Hylian. Daruni-O's are meant for goron consumption only. Discussed: spring, upcoming Vita episode, FFX on Vita, the potential Ocarina of Time remake, perception of remakes, different eras of Zelda, Advanc...

When the calendar is bare, and a game can fit in there? That's Fire Emblem: Three Houses! When you don't know what to play, but you gotta kill the day? That's Fire Emblem: Three Houses! Discussed: PAX East, C2E2, new patreon episodes, the 2010 era of roguelikes, Spelunky, FTL, different styles of motivation, Fire Emblem Three Houses, the beauty of barks, Mega Man Star Force, the worst dressage mus...

Oh god, Wally's up on stage at the open mic again. Get ready for ten more minutes of "Oh! Susanna" unless he finally learned how to play something new this month… Discussed: Upcoming P4G bonus, Persona 5 Royal, the loop of Persona, our expectations for Persona 6, Resident Evil Requiem, the hunk of gaming, the history and the future of Resident Evil, Soul Calibur III, Marathon Find us everywhere: h...

Travel outside of any major metropolitan area. Escape the light pollution. Hike out to the middle of the woods. Climb the highest peak you can. On exceptionally clear nights, surrounded by your friends, look into the sky and you just might see him peering back. Discussed: Our hero with a pizza, an impromptu Square Enix discussion, the strength of Team Asano, the future of Final Fantasy, Paranormas...

"Yo, Ditto, I gotta admit -- splitting the rent is almost as fun as gathering lumber!" If anyone else said this to me, I would assume they were being passive aggressive. But not Scyther, my roommate. He's the coolest guy in all of Pokopia. Discussed: Pokémon Pokopia, the DQ Builders 2 influence, Pokémon personalities, roommate Scyther, the future of Animal Crossing, the latter half of Resident Evi...

If I do this squat, it'll be the most squats I've ever done outside of The Shire. Discussed: Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom’s modern hits, Off-Broadway Skyrim, our experience with Resident Evil, Leon and Grace, camp, Ys X: Proud Nordics, modern Ys gameplay, Buff Sam, Trails of Cold Steel, Falcom Corner, Marathon Server Slam, battle royales and Destiny-likes, BB’s time with Destiny, extraction shoot...

Sakurai steps up to the podium, looking troubled. He's not his confident self this time around — and it's doubly weird that he's making this announcement live and in person instead of through some kind of Nintendo Direct. There's even regular press here, not just games media people. "We are removing Matthew McConaughey as Mud from Super Smash Bros. We are aware of rumors circulating regarding a li...

Sometimes life leads you down a certain path where you know exactly where, when, how, and why things should fall into their natural order. Other times, you need to dice of fate to give you a helping hand. And that's what life is all about. Discussed: rolling a d10, Windblown, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the vibe of the Vita library, BB’s P4G update, rolling a 4, Culdcept, Smash Bros. for 3DS...

Linguists are baffled. “There seems to be a new subcommunity in a niche online video game developing a totally new manner of speech by fusing what’s known as the ‘Valorant accent’ with idioms from medieval English,” writes a joint statement from The Linguistic Society of East and West. Discussed: BB realizes he’s offline, Highguard, early impressions of Deadlock, Yoda in Soul Calibur, Dragon Quest...

The makings of a Joeylike are pretty simple, all things considered: The player character needs to ask "how you doin'?" as often as possible. This generally makes Joeylikes easy to spot from a mile away, but it also means they come off as derivative. Attempts to change the Joeylike catchphrase are often disasterous.   Discussed: Code Vein II, Nioh 3's demo, Elden Ring: Nightreign, soulslikes, Joey...

Jareth skulks through the castle and out the front gates while listening to their favorite podcast , hair somehow bopping to and fro while also locked into its gravity-defying shape. As he makes his way towards the lillies, a new song idea slams its way into his frontal lobe. It's a riff on another song he sang long ago. He croaks it into existence. Discussed: strange recording arrangements, Perso...

I don't mean to hy my own tale about this, but I have some theories about Persona 6 that I'm feeling pretty confident about. Discussed: Malort, steam heat radiators responding to negative temperature weather, Tekken 3, informed button mashing, Vital Shell, Cannon Spike-Likes, a reminder about the ps1 poll and goty giveaway, Escape From Ever After, next bonus ep, Persona 6 theories, Hytale Cameron’...

What do Dragon Quest games and 90s Nickelodeon game shows have in common? Discussed: What is five dollars, Blue Prince, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Unbeatable, Mario Tennis: Power Tour Use code AETHER20 at checkout for 20% off your first year of Pika! Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online Buy some merch, if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon...

Thank you to Theater of the Mindset for sponsoring this episode! Hey is this thing on? Had an idea for a Persona game but instead of "The Midnight Channel" there's "The 7:18 Bowl of Chili." What do we think, gang? Discussed: Post-GOTY, what we had for dinner, Antiques Roadshow, GOTY 2016, the next season premiere, The Jersey Devil, Brendon Vaguely, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, the appeal...

Hear ye, hear ye!! Don your warmest winter gear and settle in for another recounting of our favorite video games from this most recent year. And by "our" we of course also mean "your." It's everyone's GOTY. And that's why it's called a "Spectacular." Discussed: Our ten favorite games of 2025, and a lot more. (Spoilers for our 2026 Season Premiere:) Google Form for your input. Details mentioned in...

The return of bump-slash combat is here, but what we’re positing is: What if it’s time for throw up and explode combat? Disclaimer: We recorded this before the recent news about Larian’s use of generative AI for creative work. It’s very disappointing. Discussed: the Vita is here, Persona 4 Golden, the upcoming remake of P4, our experience getting into Persona, our S-Link arcana, Vita games we’re m...

We're joined this week by Brandon Sheffield — creative director at Necrosoft Games and cohost of the fantastic Insert Credit podcast — for a conversation about making games, and making Demonschool specifically. Afterwards, we have a conversation about the highs and lows of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and making a version of Rorschach who is somehow even worse than the original. Discussed: Brandon Shef...

We're bringing a whole new meaning to the idea of "cousin games." Follow Jack Kentala and check out his debut novel Meet Me In The Gameroom at https://www.jackkentala.com ! Discussed: Changing up the intro, the Discord GOTY poll, Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved, the structure of visual novels and adventure games, Sektori, the overlap between roguelikes and the arcade, Spike-Likes, the Vit...

Bib Fortuna takes the stage — calm, composed, he's been practicing for this moment — and takes a deep breath before revealing the next era of video game conferences. "We all know E3 has come and gone, but it's time for something truly new. I present: Steve-B." Check out Skull and Scones at https://skullandscones.com! Discussed: Steve B, Bib Fortuna and Ben Quadinaros, Kirby Air Riders, the genius...

You kill time, I kill demons. We are not the same. Discussed: Memories from four weeks ago, Demon School, the influence of Persona and SMT, Lumines Arise, another A2 Scenario, Octopath Traveler 0 (Demo), the new era of retro RPGs, the best year for Pokémon ROM Hacks, what is happening with Metroid Prime 4, GOTY prep Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online Buy some merch, if you'd like: http...

Flip a coin and it lands on heads or tails. Release a Dragon Quest and it lands on every platform. Makes you think. Matt Horton's video essay and interview about coin flipping games on Flow State Q-Up soundtrack on bandcamp Discussed: New stuff on Patreon, Stephen on Wavelengths, games about flipping coins, Q-Up, e-sports, Unfair Flips, recent history of Warriors spin-off games, Hyrule Warriors: A...

I was heading towards Quelaag's Domain but had to pass through Foul Rift to get there... and I gotta say, I think this is the kind of place I could very easily call "home." Matt Horton's video essay and interview about coin flipping games on Flow State Discussed: A new November segment, Foul Rift, clowns, Powerline, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, Pokémon Hearth, Pokémon Heart & Soul, Po...

I'm toiling away today, bagging trash and wiping down the windows while I process these signals. This morning I woke up and the first pass was done, but I'll need to let the system do its thing two more times before I can package the data up and ship it off. I think it's at 78% or something at this point, but it won't be done until dinner time at the earliest and by that point I'll need to decide...