Press START

Are you investing in the new web3 video game console? Then Press START has some swampland in Florida to sell you! Noah's getting over COVID so we kept things short this week. We're making fun of crypto scams, talking about E3's supposed return and lots more.  THINGS MENTIONED:  The itch.io bundle for abortion rights . Caro Asercion on Twitter and itch . This Destructoid article from earl...

Want to hear three 20-somethings relitigate the decades-old argument of whether games can be art? Well you're in for a treat when Tori and Noah delve into games criticism, art criticism and much, much more with special guest writer Emily Price. Price has a regular column at Unwinnable, and she's written about games for the Washington Post, Paste Magazine and more. It's not all hippy-dippy art crit...

Ah, summertime. What better way to weather the oppressive heat than with a cocktail by the pool and some video game time? Noah and Tori reminisce about some of the games they played in bygone summers as well as some games with distinctly summer-y aesthetics. Plus there's some news, some Michael Jackson and some Gundam.  CONTENT WARNING FOR BRIEF MENTION OF ABORTION FROM 1:12:00 to 1:13:00 THI...

Tori and Noah spend a good chunk of the show wading through the unbearable amount of game announcements from the past week and a half. We're also celebrating Pride Month with the strange little creature Square Enix is using to raise money for GLAAD. There's other stuff in here too. THINGS MENTIONED: More games than it is literally possible for me to have kept track of. Video Games Chronicle says a...

It's an upcoming game news extravaganza this episode. Pokemon news, Sonic news and a PlayStation State of Play. Noah wants to eat Lechonk and Tori's cat game finally gets a release date. Noah tries to sell Tori on Dragon Quest IX. Also, both of our cats make an appearance in this episode because they are loud sometimes. THINGS MENTIONED:  New Pokemon trailer . This Kotaku article about how ta...

We're talking unions, Gollum, Garfield and Goku in this episode. Only some of those relate to actual news items, the others are more just us shooting the shit. THINGS MENTIONED: This Vice article about Raven Software's QA team unionizing . This Kotaku article about Reggie Fils-Aimé's comment about unions . This tweet about how unions are good, actually . This Vice article about how game devs are m...

Tori and Noah diagnose each other on Blizzard's diversity chart, Tori triumphantly tells her tale of becoming the Elden Lord and Noah's still struggling to get a Victory Royale. Oh, and we talk about how we each own Skyrim multiple times, but who doesn't at this point? THINGS MENTIONED:  This Kotaku article explaining Blizzard's diversity chart . This Bloomberg article about Jim Ryan being Re...

Lots of labor news in the world of gaming this week, from Nintendo (allegedly) being shitty to Bobby Kotick (allegedly) being shitty (again). Tori and Noah break it all down as well as give updates on Fortnite, recommend some dungeonsynth and, uh, play Fortnite. THINGS MENTIONED: Jack Yarwood’s follow-up article about crunch at Traveler’s Tales . VGC's scoop about 2K LEGO sports games . Kat Bailey...

Tori and Noah are talking Mario (it's Mario time, after all), Bible games and, as always, labor conditions in the games industry. THINGS MENTIONED: Gary Larson's Cow Tools from the comic The Far Side . This weird, cryptic tweet about the Mario movie from Nintendo . This Gamerant article about Nintendo's alleged union-busting . This Game Developer article about the working conditions at Nintendo EA...

Tori and Noah are joined by cozy gamer Jenny Windom, also known as Kimchica. She's a streamer, indie game curator and one part of the worker-owned collective and dev team Soft Not Weak. We talk all things cozy, what it means for a game to be cozy and about her background and experience in games. You can find Jenny on: Tiktok: @Kimchica Twitter: @Kimchica25 YouTube: Kimchica Twitch: Kimchica THINGS...

Holy shit, there's a new Kingdom Hearts game coming out. Tori and Noah have a deep conversation about whether they need to catch up on years-worth of lore and, of course, talk about some gaming labor news. THINGS MENTIONED:  This Kingdom Hearts IV trailer . This article from The Gamer about a potential Star Wars world in Kingdom Hearts IV . This IGN article with the Final Fantasy Uniqulo leak...

Tori and Noah want freelance writers to be paid a livable wage, and they also want to get into point-and-click adventure games. Oh yeah and there's a new LEGO game and Noah is trying to decide whether to buy it or not.  LIGHT SPOILERS INSIDE FOR ELDEN RING AND SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 3 THINGS MENTIONED: This article in The Verge about Bloodborne Kart . This PC Gamer article about the new...

Tori and Noah are joined by special guest Alanna Okun to talk about the games that inspired Alanna to dive deeper into gaming. We're talking Persona, crafting and, you guessed it, Elden Ring. Noah also tests Alanna and Tori's gaming knowledge with the Real Game vs. Fake Game challenge. THINGS MENTIONED:  Vox's The Goods . Into the Aether, a lowkey video game podcast . Alanna's books . Katie H...

Tori and Noah are back from a week off gaming news to talk about some new releases, Elden Ring updates and the no good very bad new Harry Potter game. Come for the brief discussion on Hogwarts Legacy and stay for the recommendations of non-cisgender gamers, writers, etc. to support.  THINGS MENTIONED:  This Polygon article about the former Hogwarts Legacy designer with the right wing You...

Tori and Noah only talking about Elden Ring for a little bit in this one, really. There's lots of gaming news, good and bad. Square Enix snapped, and Tori beat Earthbound and she loves her son Ness very much. THINGS MENTIONED: This Polygon article about abuse allegations at Sony . This Polygon article about the Valkyrie series . The incredible podcast Blowback. Season one is all about the Iraq War...

Forget gaming news, we're talking Elden Ring, baby. It wouldn't be a conversation about a Souls game without Twitch's own HeyKipp, and we're all pretty much in agreement that, at least so far, Elden Ring is one of the best games we've ever played. Strap in and join us on the Collective Gamer Moment that is Elden Ring.  THINGS MENTIONED:  GodGamerKate on Twitch . Kanye West in Elden Ring...

There's some pretty serious shit going on in the world this week, so join Tori and Noah in some frivolous-feeling discussions about some stuff that doesn’t suck. We’re talking Shin Megami Tensei (shocker) news, Pokemon news and about the games we’re loving right now (spoiler: it’s mostly just Earthbound). THINGS REFERENCED: Brandon Sheffield on Twitter . Uppercut's Twitch page and Twitter . The tr...

Tori and Noah have good news and bad news about Nintendo, plus there's a lot of Earthbound talk, game preservation talk and some Big If True rumors. THINGS REFERENCED: The sickos meme . The Switch Sports squirrel furry pic . An article about the tweet that shows the comments Nintendo deleted about preservation .  Shameless plug of an article Noah wrote about the HD-2D engine . Retro studios’...

Tori and Noah bring on special guest and certified Pokémon Expert Rae Paoletta to school us about Pokémon Legends: Arceus. We talk all things Pokémon, smoothies and dog photography.  THINGS MENTIONED:  The pronunciation of Arceus' name . This IGN article about Pupperazzi . This old meme .  Some story spoilers for Pokémon Legends: Arceus throughout.  Our intro and outro music is...

There’s a lot of Donkey Kong talk in this one for some reason. Tori and Noah talk about new game studio announcements, another big-money acquisition and our favorite ape: Donkey Kong. THINGS MENTIONED:  This Polygon article about the Playstation Bungie acquisition. This Nintendo Life article about the Donkey Kong rumors DKVINE.com This Nintendo Life article about Gardens Slight spoilers for X...

Tori and Noah talk Star Wars, Final Fantasy VII, their indifference to the Steam Deck and how they're ready to be wowed by the new Pokémon game.  THINGS MENTIONED:  This article on The Verge about unionization efforts at Activision/Blizzard . Recently leaked footage from the canceled Star Wars 1313 . This announcement about the Jan. 31 Final Fantasy VII Showcase .  Info about the St...

Tori’s back from vacation and Noah has been slaving away in the video game news mines to keep her abreast of the biggest (sort of) gaming headlines. We talk Mario Kart, cyberbullying and tabletop card games. THINGS MENTIONED: This article about a Fallout TV show This article about the sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order. This article about Capcom banning a rapist from their platform. This article about X...

Forget the Game Awards, Tori and Noah reflect on the games that they loved in 2021, the games they weren’t in love with and their predictions for 2022. Slight spoilers for Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (31:35 — 32:28) and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (47:45 — 49:00) Things mentioned: This article Games we recommend checking out: Tori: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening The Legend of Zel...

Tori and Noah return after a holiday hiatus to talk gaming labor news, the Persona series, and, uh, predatory video game economies. Things referenced: This Polygon article about the Vodeo Games union. This tweet. This Kotaku article about Motion Twin. This YouTube video about Roblox. This Garbage Day entry about Axie Infinity Our intro and outro music is Burn Tap by GEIST and our show art is by Ka...

Tori and Noah reluctantly watched the Game Awards and have their thoughts about the show, abuses in the industry and, uh, Sonic the Hedgehog. Further reading: https://www.polygon.com/22380535/quantic-dream-lawsuit-toxic-workplace-harassment-racism-sexism-france-court-david-cage https://www.fanbyte.com/news/report-goddamnit-it-looks-like-quantic-dream-is-making-a-star-wars-game/ https://www.theverg...