The Retrograde: A Video Game Podcast

Grab your boards and hit the slopes with us as we carve our way through Snowboard Kids on the N64! Way back in 1998, cart racers reigned supreme, but few franchises took such an interesting leap by borrowing the formula and repurposing it on the slopes! It's a lesser known game, but an absolute cult classic which has been requested several times by our listeners. But just because it's remembered w...

This week we rewind the clock about 100 million years to battle dinosaurs and save Cavewomen in Joe and Mac on the Sega Genesis! You may also recognize this game as the insanely titled Caveman Ninja. It's a game which set itself apart from the likes of Contra, Streets of Rage, and all the explosions and violence of the typical 90's beat-em-up, but has that change made the game any more playable 30...

This week on the podcast it's Super Maro Kart: the game that NOT ONLY started a brand new genre, but busted open the trend of placing traditional gaming mascots TOGETHER in a non-platformer! It's a massive game to focus on, but we wanted to show it some love due to the fact that it was an ominous no-show on IGN's recent list of their Top 100 Games of All Time. Plus, with the recent rumours around...

Welcome to 2022! We're ringing in the new year with a special episode which somewhat breaks the format of our show, BUT allows us to give some insight into the exciting upcoming releases of 2022. From games, to movies, to television, we each count down our top 5 lists of the most anticipated titles over the next 365 days of our lives! We also make predictions of the biggest busts and surprises! Bu...

OH we're so PRETTY! This week we dust off what we consider to be one of the most underrated boxing video games of all time: it's Greatest Heavyweights on the Sega Genesis! At a time when on-screen likenesses just couldn't mimic their real life counterparts, this game burst onto the scene with a level of presentation which felt unmatched. But before the opening bell rings, we revisit out reviews of...

What if we told you... that just in time for The Matrix: Resurrections we decided to pop a couple red pills and dive back into The Matrix: Path of Neo? It was a follow up to one of the most notorious flops of all time in Enter The Matrix, but was a more dedicated focus on The Matrix movies' storylines the solution gamers needed to scratching that bullet time itch? Before going down that rabbit hol...

*THWIP* Just in time for Spider-Man: No Way Home, we swing into your ear holes with a look back at arguably the best Spider-Man game prior to his open world web slinging antics. Sure, the focus is more on combat and quips, but rarely in a game prior to this one were we able to do SUCH a deep dive into the Marvel universe. But just because it was fun in the year 2000 doesn't mean it still holds up...

Well, the weather is turning our worlds into a Winter Wonderland so we thought we'd take to the slopes with a look back at one of the most iconic bite-sized PC games of all time: Ski Free! Sure, the game came bundled on some of our first computers, but just because it was free doesn't mean it felt cheap. Very few people born before 1990 managed to avoid this game at some point or another, but does...

This week we shoot down our enemies and accidentally run families off the road in the 1983 vehicular combat classic Spy Hunter! We reviewed it on the NES, but its initial release was in Arcades across the world. Sure, it managed to stay in the top 5 arcade games in America for 3 years running, but nearly FORTY years later is the classic Interceptor car still worth getting into? Before getting to t...

What would a podcast about a Ghostbusters property be if it didn't start with "Who you gonna call!?" Well, we refuse to give you that satisfaction! Instead we dusted off our proton packs and picked up the eyebrow-raising cult classic 2009 Ghostbusters video game! With Ghostbusters: Afterlife creeping into theatres across the world we figured it was a great time to take a look at how the franchise...

WELL, the modern remakes of Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas may not be getting the most favourable reviews, so we wanted to find out whether going back and playing the original Grand Theft Auto III on the Playstation 2 would be a better option. Our look back at Grand Theft Auto Vice City (in an episode from 2019) wasn't as favourable as we'd hoped, but will the FIRST 3D Grand Theft...

Pick up your Pick Axes and gather those berries--this week we're heading back to the Middle Ages with a modern look at Age of Empires 4! Yes, we know: Age of Empires IV just came out at the end of October and we're a retro videogame podcast... BUT if there ever were a love letter to an era of gaming we loved it's this. Before booting up the sequel to one of our favourite Real Time Strategy games o...

Excuse YOU! We blow our way into November with a disgusting look back at a game which is OOZING with potty humour: it's Boogerman on the Sega Genesis! October may have brought us some of the spookiest games of the year, but this one has us closing our eyes for wildly different reasons. Before belabouring our thoughts on burps and boogers, we catch up on Mikey's progress with Deathloop, tease some...

Well, the spookiest month of the year has come and gone so we thought we'd treat you to something special: A TRULY spooktacular episode! We've played some enjoyable games but nothing that's truly scared us in the way our listeners had hoped, so we decided to change that with a look back at 2017's CULT classic Outlast 2! It's available now on Xbox Gamepass, and BOY is this one of the most unenjoyab...

You asked for it, and we delivered: it's finally a game scary enough to scream ON MIC! This week we've got certified confirmed NUGGETS as we're joined by returning guest, comedian, and YouTube star Jacob Sharpe (@JacobASharpe) with week 3 of #RetroGrave as we revisit the First Person Horror game, and little-girl-ghost simulator F.E.A.R. on PC! Does this industry-changing shooter maintain its scare...

This week we finally gather up the courage to go back to one of our most REQUESTED games of all time! It's Eternal Darkness on the Nintendo Gamecube! Does this game's spooky atmosphere, notorious storytelling, and crumbling sanity mechanics still make for a startling experience in the modern day? Before engaging on this epic quest we catch up on What We Do in the Shadows, and talk about the scarie...

Do you hear that? It's the sound of rattling chains, ghosts moaning, and cats hissing all in one! That's right, October has brought out the spookiest retro games of all time with #RetroGrave! We start off this month with a look at an absolute classic which is often considered to be the spiritual predecessor to Bioshock: it's System Shock 2! Believe it or not neither of us have played this game, so...

Is this the GREATEST Simpsons Game of all time?! To cap off Simptember (our month-long look at Simpsons-based Video Games) we smash, grab, and crash our way through Springfield with a look back at the "GTA Clone" that managed to offer some improvements to the formula. Along the road trip we take some time to talk about Mikey's obsession with Deathloop, Andrew's thoughts on Shang-Chi, and the new D...

This week #Simptember continues as we dream of a time when The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare on the SNES and Sega Genesis was fresh in our mind. But is this wonderfully varied game still a dream worth remembering, or is it going to give us some sleepless nights? Before dozing off we give our impressions on Psychonauts 2, Death's Door, and Nine Perfect Strangers. Plus: We all know #MikeyDoesntFinish,...

LET'S GET RRRRREADY TO SSSSSTRUGGLE! This week we continue into #Simptember (our month long deep dive into Simpsons themed video games) with a brave look at the notoriously awful game The Simpsons Wrestling on the Playstation 1! We asked for recommendations, and the listeners SURE let us know... That you don't value our time. Is this game a no-contest, or is there some enjoyment to find in this no...

Happy Simptember, D-pads! What is #Simptember, you ask? Well because we love The Simpsons so much, we decided to dedicate an entire month to Simpsons video games! We start with a journey into the game which mapped out Springfield for the first time EVER: Virtual Springfield. Is this walk down memory lane worthy of The Simpsons name, or is this one road we don't want to go down?  During our jo...

Get ready cadets! We return to Whispering Springs with our look back at Tim Schafer's Magnum Opus: Psychonauts! Just in time for the release of its sequel (cleverly called Psychonauts 2) we find out whether this 2005 Cult Classic is still just as mind blowing as it was back in the day! Along our journey back to Psychic Camp, Mikey recommends Batman: White Knight, Andrew watches Perfect Strangers,...

We've been planning a special Simpsons Themed month for a while now, and we're happy to announce it with this special PREVIEW into The Mushroom Club (our Patreon club where we release AT LEAST 2 bonus episodes every month--but often do more). You can find that here: https://www.patreon.com/theretrogradepodcast We're trying something different with this one. We'll be cueing up Season 8 Episode 2 of...

Since the Dog Days of Summer are upon us, we figured there was no better time to see what it would ACTUALLY be like as a man's best friend when take Dog's Life on the Playstation 2 for a walk! Does this game need to be put down early, or do we TRULY not deserve dogs (life)? Along this walk we also find time to bring back Poppa's Purchases to talk about some new Batman comics, Andrew's continued ad...

This week we power-skid onto the scene with a throwback from the era of Extreme Sports Games! But they can't ALL be Tony Hawk. Instead, we look at the BMX competitor to Acclaim's reign with Dave Mirra: Freestyle BMX 2. "Why didn't we do Matt Hoffman: Pro BMX?" you may ask. That's a GREAT question. And for answers we turn to friend of the show Ramona for their take on what made this game special. B...