Red Barrels Podcast

It's here! ZA/UMageddon has finally delivered an actual game to play, and that's the sort-of followup to Disco Elysium itself, Zero Parades! And for the world's foremost (and only?) Marxist gaming podcast we obviously have to go all out for it. And so Alex, Ed and Sofie have all played it, and have spewed their opinions all over the face of the podcast. Is it good? Is it bad? Does its...

We're back! We did it! After quite an hiatus, due to housing shenanigans, the Red Barrels Podcast has triumphantly returned, with an exceptional, newsy episode. As befits the events passed, we go all in talking about the Summer Games Fest and related events - of course we couldn't pass up an opportunity to discuss St. Keighley. We get into all the new games announced and shown, including g...

This episode is a day late! Why did this happen? Well, quite simply the ep is so red hot that the combination of that and the temperature outside would simply be too much for the world to handle. So, apologies for our consideration for human existance. But we're not joking about how hot the episiode is because we're delivering what everyone's been clamouring for: in preparation for ZA/...

Episode 38 erupts on the scene with an undeniable banger of an episode - we have in interview with Spring McparlinJones, AKA the Chair of the IWGB trade union's Game Workers branch! We ask what the UK's game union is up to, the shenanigans at Rockstar North and Build A Rocket Boy, and of course an update on ZA/UM, the UK's first ever unionised game developer. It was a privilege to talk...

Episode 37 pops right into your lap and welcomes you to pet and stroke it like a loving family cat. Unlike everyone else in your life, we'll never let you down. Also we're talking about games this week! Sofie gives us a twofer with Tomodachi Life and Flock Around, Ed opens old wounds by revisiting Blue Prince, and Alex thrills at tall ladies in Resident Evil: Village. And next week, some e...

Episode 36! It's here! You can't stop it! We did it already! And it's a news one! Sofie tells us about Xbox's embarassing climbdown, Ed gives us a deep-dive into Build A Rocket Boy's spiral of madness (and more updates on The Benz), and Alex regrets to inform you that Halo's music is now racist. Meanwhile, resentments build among the co-hosts leading to the inevitable lefti...

Episode 35 is here whether we like it or not. It's the situation now, we can't change it and must simply adapt to the new normal. But our lovely co-hosts are here to talk games into your waiting ears and make the transition to the new world a bit smoother. Alex explores a depressingly prescient fascist London in Watch Dogs: Legion, Ed ingests Alan Wake (more like Alan Woke amirite?) and So...

Episode 34 emerges over the horizon, shambling and heaving. But we whip it into shape, turning it into a lean, sleek episode, ready to be crammed into the holes on the side of your head. This time, Ed updates us on Stop Killing Games, Sofie announces an unlikely ally against the prudish payment processors, and Alex rants about the Triple I Initiative. You'll like this one! And of course, next...

It's episode 33! Like Expedition 33! Remember that? Clobbers? Crazy days, right? Reminiscing aside, we have a great episode this week. A games one as well! Ed waxes rhapsodical about Dark Souls 2: The Second One, and Alex causes an eruption in questionable accents by talking about Mafia: Definitive Edition. Meanwhile, Sofie languidly comments on it all, like she's on a chaise lounge or som...

NOTICE: This episode originally went out with a small (and embarassing!) editing error where Sofie's voice was only on the right speaker. This has been fixed, so if you replay/download the episode this should be sorted! Apologies! Hello, and welcome to episode thirty-two! Like the Commodore CD32! And it's a news one! Alex (and the others) talk at some length about the suspiciously-timed ne...

Episode 31 arrives, and it's a games one - Sofie gets Kojima-pilled from finishing Death Stranding, Alex gets super-relevant with Resident Evil 9, er, 7, and Ed thrills with Assassins' Creed Brotherhood (or Broho if you're freaky). The wheel keeps turning, and we'll keep breaking it. Join us next week for some (annoyingly long delayed) news! DEATH STRANDING SPOILERS END 26:25 Pleas...

Episode 30 has dawned, and it's a banger: we have a guest! Today we welcome the unsurpassed Meghna Jayanth! The fabled writer of 80 Days, Sable and of course Thirsty Suitors joins us to discuss her upcoming game All Will Rise. But more pertinently (because this is a news episode!) she tells us about how her studio Speculative Agency have courageously broken a contract with Microsoft because of...

Welcome to episode 29! They haven't stopped us yet. And it's a games one! Ed celebrates the officially established working class hero in the original Crash Bandicoot, Sofie continues to trudge across America in Death Stranding, and Alex embraces millennial cringe in Donut County. News next week, plus an exciting guest! Please consider reviewing us on iTunes and Spotify, and sharing us on s...

Episode 28 of the New Podcast Order is here, and we're back on a news one. And what news - Ed's telling us all about Xbox's bigwigs dramatically quitting and what that might tell us about the company's seeming inexorable decline. Meanwhile, Alex discusses the sad end of the remake supremos, Bluepoint. We're talking games next week - see you then! Please consider reviewing us on...

The New Podcast Order continues, and we're back talking about the games we've been playing - and you can't stop us! Alex indulges in some (now already passé, according to recent news events) Latin American adventurism in Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Ed re-enters the comforting waters of the cyberrealm in Journey of the Gods. and Sofie fantasises about working for Amazon in Death Stranding....

Weekly episodes continue, and now we're back to the news episode. And of course, a bunch of news broke almost immediately after we recorded! So if you think it's weird we don't mention something, that's why. Maybe in two weeks? But we've got great stuff anyway: Ed details the AI-pocalypse that's making all hardware more expensive, Sofie mourns the possible collapse of servi...

It's the continuation of our revolutionary fervour in the new age of the podcast: welcome to the first dedicated games episode! First up, Alex will get NATO-pilled with Battlefield 6, but then we're on to the main event - CLOBBERGEDDON LOOMS. That's right, along with Alex, Ed and Sofie have now played and finished last year's sensation Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. And they will be...

Welcome to the new age of the Red Barrels Podcast! Huge changes are afoot in the podcast realm - we're going weekly! That's right, from now on every single week (illness and so on aside) you will be getting a new episode of the pod. But we're still doing this for free, so how can we make that happen logistically? The answer is that we're splitting the podcast in two - the games in...

We're back again with episode twenty-three! Alex experiences the very Dead Rising, Sofie wallows in Stardew Valley (and likely not for the last time) and Ed aims for total extraction in Factorio. Meanwhile, in the news Anthem may be snatched from the jaws of oblivion, we indulge Ed's true passion in life, and most importantly we discuss the most astonishing GTA VI leak imaginable. Gaming w...

It's a new year, and inevitably, a new episode. The gang's all here: Sofie very unambiguously doesn't endorse buying Hogwarts Legacy, Ed moseys confidently in Red Dead Redemption 2, and Alex basks in his absolute and uncontested vindication in Metroid Prime 4. Christmas meant some slow news, but we talk about Vince Zampella's legacy and have a group discussion about Xbox's woes...

The year is almost over and that can only mean it's time for the most august and respected award ceremony of the festive season: The Most Ideologically Correct Game of the Year 2025 award. You can count on the Red Barrels Podcast to objectively determine the most politically pure title of the last 12 months - though unfortunately it's such a forgone conclusion that we have no choice but to do the...

The impossible has happened - with episode 20 the Red Barrels Podcast has reached it's one year anniversary! One whole year! And to celebrate, instead of our usual game coverage we've done a deep-dive into the phenomenon of so-called "friendslop" games. We even got into a little Peak! But to do this properly we really need a new friend to help us out and so we are joined by none...

Episode 19 descends upon us all, and thankfully Sofie is back to carry the load with us! She's indulging in her vampiric dependencies by playing Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines: 2, Alex got gud and finished Silksong, and Ed hisses at his own reflection in a window in Stray. In the news, we express full solidarity with Rockstar's disgracefully fired staff, commiserate over more Amazon g...

Sadly no Sofie today as she is still stricken with the plague. But Ed and Alex continue to make do, and somehow manage to cobble together a banger episode nonetheless! We're finally delving into controversy as Ed experiences Mass Effect 3 and it's notorious ending, while Alex rollicks around feudal Japan - again! - in Ghost of Yōtei. In the news we have a game workers' roundup and a ve...

We're back! And gaming as hard as ever. Today, Ed talks about a little-discussed obscure game called Dark Souls, Alex frankly way overshoots his obligations by reviewing fifty whole games in UFO 50, and Sofie releases pent-up angst about the entire Sims franchise. In the news, we get into the fun news of EA's purchase by Saudi Arabia, all the excitement of Tokyo Game Show, and what incredi...