The Free Cheese

This week on The Free Cheese: we want more free stuff. We share everything we know about the latest update in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and how we feel about the changes added to the game after three years. Marc forgets who he is and becomes a clerk as he falls (literally) into the world of Job Simulator. He takes the simulation thing to the next level and plays some puzzles to date girls in Hunie...

This week on The Free Cheese: we'll provide copies on release day! We bring our month of monsters to a close with a conversation about Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, our pick for this month's game club. Matt continues to love Batman: The Telltale Series in the latest episode release and tries the latest in first-person shooter offerings, Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. Marc goes to the eShop and brin...

This week on The Free Cheese: it's Marc After Darc™ Gather around as Marc and Joe catch up on all things Nintendo Switch. Marc shares his hopes and dreams for Nintendo's new home console that can leave the home, as well as just how happy it makes him. As we discuss Now Playing, Joe takes us into the World of Final Fantasy and how classic Final Fantasy is given a Pokémon-styled gameplay mechanic. T...

This week on The Free Cheese Podcast: we turn 3 minutes into 2 hours. Nintendo announced its newest home console, the Nintendo Switch. Long known by its codename, "NX," the Nintendo Switch is a home console that has the ability to be carried outside of the home and played wherever you go. Joe and Matt discuss the nature of this new console and pull at every thread possible from the 3 minute traile...

This week on The Free Cheese Podcast: we turn the castle upside down. Join Joe, Marc, and Matt to discuss the preservation of video games, the retro section in big box retailers, and how the market for old games is created. Joe goes Japanese with Final Fantasy VI and Dragon Quest VII, Matt heads south in Mafia III, while Marc returns to a favorite land wearing new skin in Plague of Shadows. Joe tr...

This week on The Free Cheese: we learn which games Marc likes. Joe and Marc are joined by our good friend Matt to talk about why From Software doesn't make Zelda, eSports and mainstream media, and the new Pokémon evolutions. Matt deletes MLB the Show only to redownload it later. He just wrapped up the latest Deus Ex game, Mankind Divided and gets ready for Mafia III.  Marc finally gets Galak-Z to...

This week on The Free Cheese, we enter Ultra Reality. Joe and Marc gather this week to discuss the Nintendo 64 and its twentieth anniversary. We share the stories of receiving ours and the games we got at launch. Marc plays some Hyper Light Drifter in a glorious 60 frames per second and wonders why he has to in the first place. Joe wants more out of Slain: Back from Hell and finds it in Super Mari...

This week on The Free Cheese, we become human. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in North America next week, we discuss our list of favorite 20 N64 games and some of the games that made the cut. Marc tells us about the time he tricked a child. We find out if Joe was right about the NX after last week's prediction, and why Marc and Kyle struggle to find enjoyment in thatgamecompany's Journey. We dis...

This week on The Free Cheese, find out more next year.  Joe and Marc gather to talk about the swath of games that have been delayed and what is the appropriate reaction to disappointment. We look at how positive reinforcement can do a lot of good and how toxic it is when we spew negativity. We played FAST Racing NEO this week in attempt to fill the F-Zero void that lives in our hearts. We learn th...

This week on The Free Cheese, we get upgraded. Joe, Marc, and Kyle gather to discuss the PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation 4 Slim, and what those consoles really mean for our market.  We learn about Nintendo's mobile delays and its new game bringing Mario to the platform. Hyper Light Drifter gets cancelled for Wii U and PS Vita and we talk about why that's okay. Kyle struggles to find something to...

This week on The Free Cheese, we just want to be heard! Joe, Marc, and Dashe gather in a conversation about the classic days of Castlevania and Final Fantasy. We learn about Dashe's gaming history and the first game that he ever beat. We talk about the two very different camps of Final Fantasy fans and how Marc walks the line in between them. We go a little further into some of the Nintendo Direct...

This week on The Free Cheese, we talk directly to you about Nintendo. Kyle and Joe close out our month of Metroid coverage with a conversation about Metroid: Zero Mission. We talk about our experience with the game, why every Metroid game should be like this one, and why it's okay that Nintendo is a little strict with the use of its IP. After a week, Kyle has explored and understands a bit more of...

This week on The Free Cheese, we break hard drives! Marc responds to Kyle and Joe's conversation from last week, adding some insight into where we were last episode. Kyle contradicts himself from last week and finds himself piloting a ship to nowhere. Joe breaks his computer and has to borrow his girlfriend's to record! We talk about how certain games are like a secret garden to us, and how we've...

This week on The Free Cheese, Joe and Kyle try to understand discipline and attempt to balance their expectations with reality. We wonder why No Man's Sky is no more exciting than a trailer, and how difficult it is to create something that still provides thrill and surprise to encourage playground chatter in the modern era. We look at what makes stories interesting to us and try to uncover why we...

This week on The Free Cheese, Marc and Joe learn to love together forever. While Kyle is away, Marc and Joe talk about the cancellation of Metroid Dread. The lost game from 2005 remains a mystery but as we look back, we try to understand what it may have meant canonically for the series. Marc sees red in Doom and sees nothing inside of Metroid Prime: Blast Ball. Joe remains unimpressed with the 2....

This week on The Free Cheese, we talk a lot about homeless Mario.  To start our month of Metroid coverage for the series' 30th anniversary, we briefly discuss our own personal histories with the franchise. We talk about the horror/not horror elements of the games and what makes a great Metroid. Kyle finds himself riding a bike in circles to hatch more eggs, while Joe plays pretend soccer in Metroi...

Marc bought a PlayStation 4 and Kyle teaches us things we never asked to learn. This week, Joe and Kyle are playing through Pokémon to complete their respective Pokédexes. Kyle just ran through the Delta Episode for his second time while Joe struggles to hatch the Unown. Marc played a lot of Overwatch because he doesn't have Rock Band (or Bloodborne) yet, but also found a lot of joy in the challen...

This week, we realize how often we say the word Pokémon in an hour and a half.  Marc strips out the color of his world and plays a weird, Western version of Hotline Miami in 12 is Better 6. He also uses horses to play solitaire somehow... Kyle is facing the Elite Four and trespassing charges (Kyle found the one guy not playing Pokémon GO). Joe gets weird to the beat in Rhythm Heaven Megamix and de...

Pokémon GO is finally here and it is the only thing that we can talk about! At least in the second half of our episode. This week, Joe, Marc, and Kyle talk about weird neighbors, bleeding ankles, and weird monsters that are crawling in the streets. We decided to save the Pokémon GO conversation until the second half of the show, and spent the first half discussing the other games we've been playin...

Marc goes on a boat while Joe goes on a tangent. On this week's episode, Marc finally gets into the head of Psychonauts and bounces his way to the beat in Crypt of the Necrodancer. We discuss the logistics of crowdfunding games and how game financing has changed how developers are creating what we play. Joe tries to make sense of A Boy and His Blob but instead joins Marc in Shovel Knight co-op and...

20 years ago, 151 monsters debuted on the Game Boy. While we didn't get Pokémon in North America for another two years, we still caught the addiction to catch them all. Joe, Kyle, and Marc spend a few hours talking about Pokémon. We start with the first two titles, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, sharing our memories of playing the games for the first time and revisiting them on Virtual Console near...

It's been five months since we've recorded an episode and we all missed it. Joe, Kyle, and Marc sit down to discuss E3 2016 and all of the secrets revealed.  We talk about what Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo brought to the annual show and what we liked best from each.  Xbox has two new consoles on the way, PlayStation is bringing back a lost friend, and Nintendo celebrates 30 years of a dude in a...

We wonder if games are better than they ever were or if the best years are already behind us. Joe is joined by Mike to discuss the 20th anniversary of Pokémon and buying a New Nintendo 3DS. Mike spends some more time with Black Ops III even when the Zombies mode makes no sense. Joe plays fake crane games for 3DS menu badges and learns how to build a video game console. Oh, and Joe finally beat Blo...

Herein lies the episode where we put 2015 to rest and do our best to guess what will happen in 2016. Joe is joined by Sandeep and Tyler to talk about how Bloodborne should have and could have won game of the year in 2015, the return of Amplitude, and how awful Fighting Force was. We review the predictions that we made in 2015 and award the victor with the crown of Nostragamus. We take turns sharin...

Joe discovers the magnificent world of Steam just in time for the Holiday sale and just in time for everyone else in the world to see his Steam wallet information... James bought and finished Wolfenstein: The New Order in less time than it took for Joe to install Windows 10 on his computer. Marc draws the year to a close by finally experiencing Phantasy Star Online 2, even if it's a backwards nigh...