The Retrograde: A Video Game Podcast

Time for confession, D-Pads! This week we sit down to discuss our biggest "Gamer Shames." Sure, we've played a lot of games over our lives, but every so often we find ourselves ashamed of our own habits. Whether it's a franchise we've never actually played, a game we hate which others seem to love, or a lie we've told others to make ourselves feel better: we're here to unleash it all on you! We al...

Pencils down, D-Pads! We've received your questions and comments and have built up a backlog rivaling that of our unplayed video games. We figured we'd take a week to plow through some of the unanswered listener questions which we've been sitting on! Will we be gaming as old folks? Do we have any peripherals or games we REALLY regret selling? Which games made us go from hating them to loving them,...

Hut hut, D-Pads! Today we take to the gridiron... and the rink... and the court... all from the comfort of our gaming chairs as we discuss the current state of Sports Video Games! As two lifelong gamers with a heavy appreciation of their sporting counterparts, we wanted to check in on where the industry is at. Are games like MLB: The Show, NHL, NBA 2K, and Madden better now than they were 10 years...

Time travel back to 1990, D-Pads! This week we tried out the game that's taking PS1 era survival horror fans by storm: Crow Country! While it only came out recently, this game feels like it was pulled directly from the 1990s. It's a loving homage to the likes of Silent Hill and Resident Evil, but given the improvements we've made in mechanics and graphics since then, is there really room in our li...

TV Never Changes, D-Pads! This week we wrap up our conversation about Fallout on Prime by recapping the final 4 episodes, and giving our thoughts on whether or not the show ultimately stuck the landing. Is the Fallout TV Show worth preserving in a cold-war era vault? Or is it just a mutated version of the video game? Make sure you've listened to our first Fallout TV episode where we recap the firs...

Seatbelts fastened, D-Pads! This week we take to the skies (and more often than not, plummet to the earth) as we look back at one of gaming's most iconic flight simulation games: Pilot Wings for the Super Nintendo! Neither of us played this one back in the day, so this week was our first time giving it a shot. With a fresh set of eyes, does this game deserve the cult praise it's gotten? Make sure...

Let there be light, D-Pads! This week we pay homage to one of the most iconic retro consoles of all time: The Sega Genesis! Known as the Mega Drive outside of North America, this sleek looking powerhouse of the 1990s stunned the home console market by directly competing against the behemoth that was (and still is) Nintendo. We all know Sega eventually lost ground and bowed out of the home console...

Lock in, D-Pads! This week we're venturing out into the wasteland of Prime Video to salvage what we can from arguably the most talked about TV Show out there at the moment: It's Fallout on Prime! Conveniently, one of us is a lifelong fan of the gaming franchise Fallout, while the other has only admired it from afar. We aim to sit down to discuss how successful the show is, and whether it works bet...

Ante up, D-Pads! This week we can't resist the call of what might be the hottest game on the market right now: Balatro! We've taken some time to learn the ropes and really get a sense of what this Poker Inspired Deck Building Roguelike is all about. Is Balatro really as great as everyone says? Or is it just a band-aid as we wait for Slay the Spire 2? Check out our full gameplay segment on YouTube...

It's time for an add-on to our episode about add-ons, D-Pads! This week we're wrapping up our look at some of the most iconic gaming peripherals of all time. Sure, no one should set foot on a Tony Hawk Ride skateboard, but that doesn't mean we should toss out every hunk of plastic we've hooked up to our consoles. From the Nintendo Zapper and the Playstation Multitap to the Wii Fit Balance board an...

Time to get a little bit more, D-Pads! What's better than your favourite game? The peripherals which make your favourite game EVEN better! We've all held a giant chunk of plastic in our hands and either felt self conscious, or felt like gaming couldn't get any better. This week we sit down to rank the most iconic Gaming Peripherals of all time! Is the NES Zapper truly S-Tier even though most of us...

Do the Mario, D-Pads! This week we took a trip back to the Mushroom Kingdom to check out one of the most infamous Super Mario properties of all time: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! It only aired for one season and featured the likes of "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi, but in that short time it amassed a cult following and contributed to countless memes. But after so much...

May your blades chip and shatter, D-Pads! This week we ride the hype train all the way to Arrakis as we look back at the game that laid the groundwork for all Real Time Strategy games to come: Dune 2 Battle for Arrakis! It's also known as Dune 2: The Building of a Dynasty, but we're here to find out if it's still just as revolutionary as the day it was released. Check out our full gameplay segment...

Turn off those consoles, D-Pads. We've been spending too long talking about "the best," and "our favourites." It's about time we grind things to a halt and talk about our least favourite video games of all time. Are these the worst video games of all time? Not necessarily. In fact: more often than not, not at all! Instead, these are the games which for one reason or another really bothered us. May...

Find a partner and mash your medallions together, D-Pads! You asked, and we watched: this week we finally take a look at the heavily requested film adaptation of Double Dragon (1994) featuring the likes of Scott Wolf, Robert Patrick, and... Alyssa Milano's brother? With all the conversation surrounding the success of video game adaptations, from 2023's Super Mario Bros. and The Last of Us, to 2024...

Call your dads, D-Pads! It's time to boot up that old grey PC in your basement, click on over to Start - Program Files - Games, and see what you've got! If you were lucky enough to be born 30 or so years ago, you'll know what this is all about, and you'll likely have some opinions on what were some of the best Windows Based and Microsoft Entertainment Pack games! Is Solitaire better than Minesweep...

Time for a pit-stop, D-Pads! As gamers we're still early enough into the lifecycle of our favourite medium to have been blessed with more fantastic years than bad ones. After the gaming crash of the 1980s, it looked like the sky was the limit! That is, until 1995. While no year is without a few stand-out games, some years brought more misery than excitement. Join us as we draft some of the best AN...

Time to dust off that Blockbuster card, D-Pads! This week we sit down side by side on a sofa built for two to discuss a style of gaming which just doesn't seem to exist anymore. While the introduction of online multiplayer games felt promising, the unforeseen casualty was the tried and true practice of couch co-op! We wanted to relive some of our best memories playing videogames side by side with...

We've been feeling the love since our 300th episode, so we wanted to give back to the listeners! This week we decided to open up the mail bag again and answer some of your burning questions. Why isn't there more sex in video games? What are our least favourite peripherals of all time? What makes a mediocre game worth playing? And more! Plus, we break down some of the biggest moments from last week...

It's our 300th Episode, D-Pads! When we first started this podcast roughly 6 years ago, the world had no idea what it was in for: a few weeks of poorly produced banter before the feed went silent? A forgotten corner of the internet where two friends catch one another up about their gaming habits? Mikey's ultimate manifesto? Regardless, we've made it to 300 episodes and we couldn't have done it wit...

Kick, Push, D-Pads! This week we strap on the elbow pads, slip into the knee pads, throw on a helmet, and take to the streets! Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is one of the original franchises which inspired this podcast, and as we get closer to episode 300 we wanted to take a week to play a game which is near and dear to our heart: it's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2! We easily remember this game being near per...

This week we party like it's 1999! All this talk about how great 2023 was for gaming stirred our ongoing debate over which years have been the best in gaming history. So far on the show we've done deep dives into 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2007, but somehow we missed one of the most fruitful years of all time: 1999! From Silent Hill and Legacy of Kain, to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Super Smash Bros., t...

Happy New Year, D-Pads! This week we look forward to some of the year's biggest and most interesting releases. 2023 was an absolute powerhouse, but is it even possible to consider that 2024 might have just as much to offer? From The Plucky Squire, to Hades 2, to Star Wars: Outlaws, there are still plenty of games to keep us geared up for what's in store. Plus: we look at how our 2023 most anticipa...

Happy New Year, D-Pads! This week we decided to release a very special episode a bit earlier than our typical Tuesday release. If you're looking for something to do this New Year's Eve, we've got your covered! Join us as we take part in a 60 minute "Power Hour" where we drink a shot of beer every minute while trying to recap 2023, and give predictions as to what is in store for us in 2024. We talk...

Well, D-Pads, another year has come and gone, and now we find ourselves looking back on one of the greatest years in not just GAMING history, but TV and Movies as well. Was it the delays of our COVID years pushing everything to the same release window, or just dumb luck? We don't know... but what we DO know is that there were too many great releases across all mediums to limit ourselves to just vi...