Nora Blake & Molly Rhinebeck

Journal Updated

Leisure EN ↓ 69 episodes

Journal Updated is a monthly game club podcast with a focus on exploring the design of choice within the medium. Join Nora and Molly every month as they dig into a game through a holistic lens, discuss its use of narrative agency, and answer emails from listeners!

Author

Nora Blake & Molly Rhinebeck

Category

Leisure

Podcast website

www.abnormalmapping.com

Latest episode

Jun 12, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

Journal Updated 69: Life is Strange 12.06.2026

Welcome back to another Journal Updated! This month we’re heading aaaaall the way back to 2015 with Dontnod’s classic adventure game Life is Strange! We explore the rotten underbelly of a picturesque American town…what could go wrong?

Journal Updated 68: of the Devil 06.05.2026

Hello and welcome back to Journal Updated! This month, after some technical issues ate our episode, we return with a guest: Emmeline returns for her third visit to talk about of the Devil, a visual novel about a criminal defense attorney who might have a card or two up her sleeve. Also in this episode: Our Lovely Ladyverse, Moonlight Duelists, Flowers: Le Volume sur Automne, Fear & Hunger, Vam...

Journal Updated 67: Demon's Souls 04.03.2026

Welcome back everybody! This month on Journal Updated we're bringing you all the hottest takes about Demon's Souls, best known for winning Gamespot's Game of the Year award in 2009! In Diary Updated, we talk new jobs, old jobs, spring cleaning, and more!

Journal Updated 66: Luigi's Mansion 04.02.2026

This month on Journal Updated we talk about Resident Evil, Warframe, the Rogue Prince of Persia, and the hit Gamecube launch title Luigi's Mansion! In Diary Updated, we talk about work, our online presences, church feelings, therapy, and more!

Journal Updated 65: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus 06.01.2026

Hello and welcome to another Journal Updated! This month we return to the PS2 for another beloved 00s platformer: Sly Cooper! In Diary, we talk holidays, winter, and the books Nora read this month!

Journal Updated 64: Dead Rising 02.12.2025

Welcome back to Journal Updated! This month we tackle one of the most iconic Capcom games on the 360: Dead Rising! Then in Diary Updated we talk Thanksgiving, travel, and fanfiction!

Journal Updated 63: Bulletstorm 04.11.2025

Molly is visiting Chicago, so you know what that means: an in person episode of Journal Updated! We played Bulletstorm, the Most 2011 Game Ever, and in Diary Updated we talk travel, doctors' appointments, therapy, and more!

Journal Updated 62: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy 13.10.2025

Welcome back! This month on Journal Updated we talk about Silksong, Hades II, Nunholy, and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy! Meanwhile, in Diary Updated: suffering, coping, and beating Nora’s ass.

Journal Updated 61: Oxenfree 03.09.2025

Hello! Welcome back to another Journal Updated. This month, Nora and Molly play the 2016 hit Oxenfree! Tune in now to hear us talk ghosts, moving, church feelings, and beanie babies!

Journal Updated 60: Code Vein 09.08.2025

Hello once again and welcome back to another episode of Journal Updated! We're here this month to chat about Nora's vacation, Code Vein, and shitty dad stories.

Journal Updated 59: The Forgotten City 02.07.2025

Salve, friend! We return with another episode, this time talking about the 2021 adventure game The Forgotten City! Step back in time with us as we learn about what it takes to live without sin. Along the way we'll chat about a host of characters. complain about the Eternals movie, and do our best to reckon with the sheer scope of human history! Also in this episode, we try something new by introdu...

Journal Updated 58: Cyberpunk 2077 15.06.2025

Welcome one and all! We're here with a later than usual episode because this game is too fucking big. We both spent upward of 70 hours on the damn thing. Is it worth it? Honestly, I don't know. The highs are damn high! I'm really glad I basically didn't have any noteworthy bugs or issues in this playthrough. That would have been too much I think. In any case, we had a good time on this episode, ev...

Journal Updated 57: Lovely Lady RPG 01.05.2025

Welcome back! This month on Journal we decided to play a smaller game than usual in part to allow us more time to play a bigger game next month. With that decision came Lovely Lady RPG! We had a really good discussion about the game's virtues and pitfalls, even though (as you might expect) we got pretty different levels of enjoyment out of it.

Journal Updated 56: Avowed 30.03.2025

Welcome back, Journal enthusiasts! We're back at it once again with a new RPG from Obsidian. We make some guys, we fight some assorted island fauna, we collect color coded loot from slightly-hidden treasure chests. It's Avowed! We had a lot to say about this game, and more to mull over in our heads. Also we talk about Pokemon too much.

Journal Updated 55: Alice: Madness Returns 02.03.2025

Hello everyone and welcome back to Journal Updated! This month, we talk a little bit about Minecraft Pokemon and Nora’s thoughts about Dragonlance--but the star of the show is the 2011 action platformer Alice: Madness Returns! Join us as we dig into the twisted fantasies of the titular Alice as she tries to piece together her own mind...

Journal Updated 54: Too Human 02.02.2025

Welcome back, gamers! This month, we played the (in)famous Too Human, a game that is a truly unique experience. nobody is doing what Silicon Knights is doing. Well, I guess Silicon Knights isn’t doing much of anything these days. But we are! Tune in for Marvel Rivals and Minecraft talk, as well as Molly roasting my ass over my taste in men. Something for everyone!

Journal Updated 53: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 03.01.2025

We're back! After an unintentional (but ultimately beneficial) break, Journal Updated is here once again to talk about a god damn video game! The subject at hand is, of course, the hit Bethesda open world RPG Oblivion! You know it, you love it, you've laughed at NPCs being silly in it. Well I finally played it! Will it hold up to its ancestors? Will it compare to its legacy? Who can say! (I can).

Journal Updated 52: Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 12.09.2024

Welcome back! This month we talk more Elden Ring, have some Tomba Talk, and more before we dive into Space Marine! Despite what you may have heard, it's a video game--and YOU can play it!

Journal Updated 51: Battlefield: Bad Company 07.08.2024

We're back with another of our hosts' old favorites! This time we have a Molly pick from 2008: Battlefield Bad Company! We have Very different opinions of this game, and though it wasn't very fun to play, our discussion was great! We also talk a Lot about Elden Ring.

Journal Updated 50: F.E.A.R. 14.07.2024

Episoooooode Fifty! We're back with a classic horror FPS from Monolith! We got clones, we got psychic dudes, we got lore, it's everything you need!

Journal Updated 49: Assassin's Creed 06.06.2024

We're back! This month, we played Assassin's Creed for the Xbox 360! It was alright. It's kind of wild how much you can see the future of the series just in this first game. We also talk about fighting and farming!

Journal Updated 48: Mirror's Edge 01.05.2024

Welcome back! This month, we talked about Mirror's Edge, the 2008 first person platformer from EA! It's a cute little game that maybe aged a little bit in certain places but as far as unfinished 360 games go this is a pretty good one! We talk about running, cyberpunk, guns vs no guns, and more!

Journal Updated 47: Alan Wake 04.04.2024

Hello again! We're back with a new Journal Updated: Alan Wake! This month, Nora played a LOT of Dragon's Dogma, but it's a bit too fresh for a big take on it. We also picked a game for the show live on air! It's not a lake!

Journal Updated 46: Dark Void 02.03.2024

We're back again! This month, we go to the place between places...it's Dark Void! This 360 third person shooter is a little rough around the edges, but it's a pretty good time! As per usual, one of us had a great experience while the other one had her own unique issues. Enjoy!

Journal Updated 45: Bioshock 2 31.01.2024

Welcome back! We kick off the Year of the Three-Sixty with a trip down memory lane...for some people. I never played this one. It's Bioshock 2! Witness the beginning of a Dad Universe with this...honestly really obnoxious fps about finding your daughter or whatever. Who cares, it's Bioshock 2.

Listen to the Journal Updated podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.