Triple Click

Maddy, Jason, and Kirk whip out their ocarinas for a trip to the past in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the 1998 masterpiece that set a new bar for 3D video games. They talk about how it holds up in 2025, how it set a blueprint for Breath of the Wild, and how Link got adult clothes after seven years in cryostasis. One More Thing: Kirk: Process: A Novel (Matthew Seiji Burns) Maddy: KPop Demo...

Before we play video games, it's important to get consent from relevant parties, such as Visa and Mastercard. This week, the Triple Click gang talks about payment processor censorship, Xbox layoffs, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's wild emails, and much more. Plus: the newfound relevance of South Park. One More Thing: Kirk: Star Trek: Lower Decks Maddy: Peak Jason: South Park LINKS: Tyler Foggott in...

OH, BANANA! Kirk, Jason, and Maddy punch through some rocks for Donkey Kong Bananza, the first big single-player Switch 2 exclusive and the latest game from the team behind Super Mario Odyssey. They talk about its delightful design tricks, how much fun it is to smash up the world, and whether it's a worthy successor to Odyssey. One More Thing: Kirk: Children of Time (Adrien Tchaikovsky) Maddy: The...

LIVE from Portland, it's Triple Click! Kirk, Maddy, and Jason reach into the Gamer hat and answer some audience questions. It gets a little off the rails. Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/jointripleclick 🚀  SUPPORT TRIPLE CLICK: Join Maximum Fun | Buy TC Merch 💬 JOIN THE TRIPLE CLICK DISCORD 🎮 Triple Click Ethics Policy 📱 SOCIALS |...

Jason, Kirk, and Maddy open up the mailbag for some of your burning questions. Should a family that's never gotten a Switch before get a Switch 1 or Switch 2? Is it ethical to play online games on private servers? And can Outer Worlds 2 really critique capitalism while being made by one of the world's biggest corporations? One More Thing: Kirk: Birnam Wood (Eleanor Catton) Maddy: Gaming pillow fro...

Triple Click brings on Tom Bissell, writer of video games, books, TV shows and the final three episodes of Andor season 2. They talk about how he went from reporting in Iraq to writing dialogue for Battlefield, his journey to become a writer on Andor, and what it was like to pen the conclusion to one of the most acclaimed TV shows of all time. One More Thing: Kirk: James (Percival Everett) Maddy:...

Kirk, Maddy, and Jason take their Kas to the Beach for a trip through Hideo Kojima's latest action game, Death Stranding 2. They talk about the changes from the first game, the quirks of the story, and what it's like to build ladders and roads across Mexico, Australia, and more. One More Thing: Kirk: A Complete Unknown (2024) Maddy: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (I finished it) Jason: Ninth House (L...

Kirk, Jason, and Maddy bring on special guest Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XV, Play Nice) to talk about his experiences as a voice actor and his new game, Date Everything! Ray talks about how he came up with the game, the seven-year saga of building it, and how it's so much more than a romance simulator. One More Thing: Kirk: The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde) Maddy: I quit Polygon lol Jason: Marble Hall...

Maddy and Jason are home from Summer Game Fest, where they played a bunch of upcoming games. Kirk watched some cool announcements. And everyone's got Switch 2s, so there's much to discuss. One More Thing: Kirk: Switch 2 Maddy: Switch 2 Jason: Switch 2 LINKS: Dan Olson on “Silkposting” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSkbylysplI Ifixit gives Switch 2 a repairability score of 3/10: https://www.ifi...

Today, Nintendo released its first new console in eight years... and the Triple Click gang doesn't have it yet. But that won't stop Jason, Maddy, and Kirk from talking about the Switch 2, its launch lineup, and the imaginary promises that consoles bring. Plus: some Summer Games Fest hopes and predictions! One More Thing: Kirk: Hacks Season 4 Maddy: Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rode...

Arise, tarnished, and watch out for server errors. Jason, Kirk, and Maddy team up for some co-op in Elden Ring: Nightreign, the new multiplayer spinoff by From Software. It's a fun game to talk about! They talk about the high highs, low lows, and the opacity of it all. One More Thing: Kirk: Your Friends and Neighbors (Apple TV+) Maddy: Kitchen Nightmares Jason: The Rehearsal (HBO) LINKS: Tyler Col...

Kirk, Maddy, and Jason grab their chainsaws and get ready to slay some aliens (demons?) in DOOM: The Dark Ages, the latest game from id Software. They talk about the new DOOM's pros and cons, the lasting appeal of the franchise, and how fun it feels to hack apart aliens (demons?) at 400 miles per hour. One More Thing: Kirk: Cabaret (1972) Maddy: Survival of the Thickest (Netflix) Jason: Golden Ido...

Can the magic of old-school Blizzard ever be recreated? Dreamhaven, a company started by Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime and a whole bunch of other Blizzard veterans, seems to be trying to make it happen. Jason, Maddy, and Kirk talk about Dreamhaven's first two games, Sunderfolk and Wildgate, and whether it's possible to recreate those old Blizzard feelings in 2025. One More Thing: Kirk: Sinners...

Grand Theft Auto VI is delayed to 2026... but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not! This week, the gang talks about both games, starting with some thoughts on the new GTA trailer before moving into some takes on Act 1 of Clair Obscur.  One More Thing: Kirk: Blue Prince Maddy: Consume Me Jason: Yellowface (RF Kuang) LINKS: Excerpts from the Clair Obscur soundtrack composed by Lorien Testard Triple Cl...

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion got a surprise remaster, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 received rave reviews, and The Hundred Line: Defense Academy is way deeper — and way better — than we expected. This week, the gang dives into all three games. Plus: some cool TV shows! One More Thing: Kirk: Adolescence (Netflix) Maddy: E.R. (Max) Jason: The Studio (Apple TV Plus) LINKS: Featuring tracks from Clair...

How should video game consoles differentiate themselves without exclusives? Do games make us more or less lonely? And are RPGs popular because they feel like jobs? This week, Maddy, Jason, and Kirk open up the listener mailbag and take some of your (excellent) questions. Plus: three killer new games that are out this week! One More Thing: Kirk: Sunderfolk (PC, Consoles, Switch) Maddy: Clair Obscur...

Blue Prince is out, and people are definitely having a normal one. Maddy, Jason, and Kirk talk about some of the initial player reactions to the highest-reviewed game of 2025, and how sentiment has changed since the first day or two. They talk about the pros and cons of RNG, when the game clicked for each of them, and what they've been seeing over the last week. One More Thing: Kirk: Oscars Watch...

Blue Prince is the best-reviewed game of 2025 so far... but does it live up to the hype? Yes, yes it does. Jason, Maddy, and Kirk talk about the game's unique genre-blending design, the appeal of the puzzles, the story hidden underneath it all, and much, much more. Plus: a very special announcement! One More Thing: Kirk: Slough House Books 5-8 (Mick Harron) Maddy: Inside Out 1 + 2 Jason: Switch 2...

Thanks to yesterday's Nintendo Direct, we now know a lot more about the Nintendo Switch 2, from the price (high!) to the release date (soon!) to the fact that omg they showed Silksong for three seconds and said it's coming in 2025, which means it MUST come out this year since when has a console maker ever been wrong about when Silksong is coming out??? Also they announced a bunch of other Switch 2...

There's a new Assassin's Creed out, and there's lots to discuss. Kirk, Maddy, and Jason talk about the structure of Assassin's Creed Shadows, the balance between protagonists Naoe and Yasuke, how the game might impact Ubisoft's future, and much more. One More Thing: Kirk: Search Engine with Ira Glass Maddy: Heretic (2024) Jason: Vantage Point (Sara Sligar) LINKS: Featuring excerpts from the AC Sha...

If the Triple Click gang worked in the video game industry, what would they each do? What's it like to pitch a game? And should Steam bring back its Greenlight process to help slow down the barrage of new games every year? This week, it's time for some burning questions! One More Thing: Kirk: Notifications Maddy: We Are Lady Parts  Jason: Dead Money (Jakob Kerr) LINKS: “The Writer Will Do Somethin...

Video games: they're cool! There are a lot of new games out, so let's talk about them. Games discussed this week: Wanderstop, Expelled, Split Fiction, Rise of the Golden Idol DLC, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, Lost Records: Bloom and Rage One More Thing: Kirk: Reacher (Prime Video) Maddy: Paradise (Hulu) Jason: The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen) LINKS: Analysis of duplicated host introduction...

Kirk, Maddy, and Jason grab their Palicoes and pull out their dual blades for a monster hunt extraordinaire. This week, the gang is talking about Capcom's latest Monster Hunter. They talk about the appeal of the core gameplay loop, the thrill of the combat, and the approachability compared to previous entries. One More Thing: Kirk: The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells) Maddy: The Contestant (2023)...

What's with the video game industry? Over the last three years, tens of thousands of jobs have been cut, dozens of studios were shut down and countless projects got canceled. Kirk, Jason, and Maddy break down why and how this is all happening, from flattened console growth to the rise of Fortnite and other Black Hole games like it. One More Thing: Kirk: The Pitt (Max) Maddy: Moonlight Internet Hos...

The gang takes a deep dive into Obsidian's latest roleplaying game, Avowed. They talk about the crunchy combat, the ramifications of story decisions, and why the exploration works so well. Plus: SNL turns 50! One More Thing: Kirk: Ladies and Gentlemen…. 50 Years of SNL Music (Peacock) Maddy: Priscilla (2023) Jason: Lisa Jewell LINKS: Featuring “Avowed” by Venus Theory and Justin E. Bell Hbomberguy...