The Cane and Rinse videogame podcast

A shiny, new Spider-Man for a shiny, new console. Two years after his mentor thwipped onto the scene, demolishing PlayStation sales records, and sparking a new Marvel Games era, it’s time for Miles Morales to step into the limelight. Will the young protegé swing into our hearts or feel the sting of a tabloid bludgeon? Join James, Ryan and Tom as they wrap up warm for a wintry trip to Marvel’s Spid...

From Playroom to the PS5, it's time to talk about Astrobot. Join Jesse, Karl, and Brian as they navigate virtual reality and the PS5 to discuss Astrobot: Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom. Does Sony have a mascot in the making?  Let's discuss.

The park is open! Ryan, Michiel and Jesse have their tickets to Nintendo Land, the Wii U's bundled-in launch title, and all of its charming minigames. As Nintendo's first step into a console generation that would prove to be more challenging for the company than the immensely successful Wii generation it was exiting, was this game a distillation of Wii-generation magic or the first harbinger of th...

The 32-bit SEGA Saturn is the subject of our latest single platform special. Leon, Chris, Karl, Michiel and community correspondents share their experiences, opinions and memories of SEGA's penultimate console. As usual we dive into the machine's technical achievements and shortcomings, as well as its accessories, peripherals and - of course - the fabulous treasure trove that is its library of gam...

Metroid 4. Or Metroid IV. Coming off the back of Wario Land 4, Nintendo R&D 1's crack team set about writing a direct sequel to Super Metroid, but also a title set much later in the timeline, serving eventually as a prequel to Metroid Dread. Leon, Brian, Leah, Rich and community correspondents get their GBAs (or equivalent) on, and brave the claustrophobic tunnels of a biological research centre a...

The team tackles Lost Odyssey, the 2007 JRPG from the mind of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, that found it's home on Xbox 360. Karl, Jon, Leah and Tony are your team for this issue to discuss their histories and experiences with the game often described as an unofficial Final Fantasy title.

As you'll hear in this podcast, the history of this one goes way back to 2004, yet it wasn't until 2017 that we finally got to play Team Ninja's action RPG, Nioh. Leon, Leah, Rich, Ryan and community correspondents discuss the game's notorious challenge and its layers and layers of mechanics. We also discuss whether the game's reputation as a pure 'Souls-like' game is fair, or whether there's actu...

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is 30 (thirty). Leon, Karl, Tony, guest Jamie Smith (Principal Game Designer at Sumo Digital) and community correspondents Spin Dash through both 8 and 16-bit versions of the first Sonic sequel. SEGA's US-based Technical Institute took the reins on the Mega Drive/Genesis, with Team Aspect following up Team Ancient's work on the Master System and Game Gear. As with the original...

Heavily inspired by Namco's Rolling Thunder, SEGA launched its cool, ninja-based response 35 years ago, in 1987. Leon, Michiel, Rich and returning guest Ben Cartlidge shimmy to the Shinobi groove, examining AM1's walk and slice platforming action. The panel also discusses the differences between the original coin-op and the official Master System conversion, and takes a quick look at the other ver...

As well as excitement, there was palpable trepidation when Nintendo announced that Metroid was going not only 3D, but also first-person - especially because it was being developed in tandem with an untested American team, Retro Studios. However, the resulting game - Metroid Prime - was received with almost universal praise. Leon, Brian, Karl and community correspondents recall the immersion and th...

Josh is your host for this issue, accompanied by Brian and Leah as they discuss Capcom's 2021 release to their long-running survival horror franchise, Resident Evil Village.

The fourth stop on our Castlevania series retrospective is the (generally maligned) first handheld incarnation, Castlevania: The Adventure. Leon, Brian, Jon, Michiel and community correspondents charge up their AA batteries for a session of this brief but punishing quest. Next up though, is M2's 'remake'/tribute (arguably in name only), Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth. a relatively obscure 2009...

Looking back a bit further than we did in our previous SEGA arcade racer podcasts on Daytona USA and SEGA Rally, we take a look at the mighty Model 1's Virtua Racing (V.R.). Leon, Chris, Karl, Tony and community correspondents remember the sheer footprint of the arcade machine and the excitement of seeing a large amount of solid polygons whirling around at a decent and consistent frame rate. As us...

Tom, James, Ryan and Jesse (who happens to be a former colleague of the game's creator) take a break from furiously clicking to discuss converting all matter in the universe into office stationary (from the safety of their browsers and/or smartphone apps.) 

The creepy comedy tale of Maniac Mansion comprises the origin stories of point and click graphic adventures, cut-scenes in videogames and a talented young creative by the name of Ron Gilbert. Leon, Jesse and Jon GameFAQ and save-SCUMM their way through Lucasfilm Games' freewheeling, freeform early adventure with its many fail-states and dead-ends. As usual we also hear from community correspondent...

Perfectly tuned or punishingly difficult? Join James, Ryan, and Brian as they dodge, dash, and dive their way through Cuphead, 2017's unique boss rush title from Studio MDHR.  The hosts, along with correspondents, examine what works, what doesn't,  and what made this game stand out for so many.

There is no escape for James, Leah, and Rich, but with Hermes’ help they can still get the message out. Supergiant Games took a risk with their fourth game, a roguelike that spent nearly two years in early access. Will the journey out of Hades be a Boon or a Pact of Punishment?

Here comes the medium-jumping sequel that was 15 years in the making, reuniting a cast of James, Jon, Leah, Ryan and Chow Yun Fat. Get ready for a Hard Boiled treat, from Midway and the master of balletic action, John Woo presents Stranglehold.

We're up to the fifth show in our mainline Yakuza series of podcasts, which, therefore, is all about Yakuza 4. Because we started with 0, you see? Anyway, Leon, Brian, Leah, Michiel and community correspondents share their thoughts on this change of direction for the Ryu ga Gotoku series, with its four playable protagonists. Tune in to hear possibly the most gaping chasm in appreciation between th...

Our second PlatinumGames joint of the year, comes in the form of 2019 Switch exclusive Astral Chain. In a sense - as regards to gameplay if not aesthetic - something of a spiritual successor to The Wonderful 101, with its twin-stick, dual character centrepiece. Leon, Josh, Leah and community correspondents wrap their minds, tongues and chains around legions of combat possibilities in this interdim...

A long-awaited podcast sequel for a long-awaited game sequel, in the year 2022 we re-enter Tim Schafer's mind in order to analyse Double Fine's Psychonauts 2. Leon, Leah, Tony, guest Peter Scheffer (@retrogamepapa) and community correspondents intern in the psychonauts programme.

Almost a decade after we covered the original Darksiders, the Cane and Rinse panel reconvenes to review the sequel. Leon, Brian, Josh, Leah and community correspondents compare the experiences with Vigil's lootier second outing, through the lenses of both 2012 and 2022.

With some delay, we bring you our podcast about the Hungarian/Japanese developed shoot 'em up, Sine Mora. Originally a 2012 Xbox Live Arcade title, but since ported to multiple formats, this supergroup developer mashup with an Akira Yamaoka soundtrack is a game that pleased mainstream game reviewers more than it pleased the dedicated shmup community. Leon, Michiel, Tony and community correspondent...

Welcome to the Blunderdome! Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout brought candy-coloured fun into millions of homes during the darkest hours of the COVID pandemic, and has since enjoyed an Epic, free-for-all relaunch around the time of show's recording. Join eager beans Tom, Chris, Darren and Tony as they dodge, fall, grab, dive and smash their way through an analysis of Mediatonic's multiplayer hit.

In 2017 Supergiant games returned with the launch of their next game. A unique complement of high fantasy role playing game and pseudo sports simulator. Join Rich, Leah, Brian and James as Cane and Rinse make a return to the Supergiant Games oeuvre to discuss Pyre, it's prescient themes, and inspect what Supergiant learned from this experience to conquer the gaming world with 2021's Hades.