Post Games

6d ago

Visit patreon.com/postgames to get bonus segments, early access, and exclusive monthly episodes like "The birth of Pokémon: 30 years ago, a young game critic imagined the biggest franchise on the planet" for $5 Visit post.games to get full episodes for free, including links to all games and stories referenced in today's show This week on Post Games: How video games and anime took over pop culture together. Act 1: Anime in your video games Act 2: Video games in your anime Patreon bonus: The anime every gamer should watch Act 3: News of the Week Last year, I helped oversee the first major national survey of anime consumption in the United States. Before the survey, I knew anime had achieved pop culture status, with characters from Dragon Ball appearing in Fortnite and musicians like Megan Thee Stallion wearing over a dozen anime cosplays. Even still, the numbers surprised me. Nearly half of Gen Z watches anime once a week. And a quarter of millennials. 44% of anime viewers have had a crush on an anime character. And 65% of anime viewers find the form more emotionally compelling than other forms of media. Anime fans claimed to watch for escape and comfort. But also for strength, a tool to prepare them for a big test or a challenging day at work. We ran this survey at Polygon, a site broadly focused on video games, because while games and anime are two different mediums, they have for decades influenced and elevated one another. And the line between the two is blurrier and blurrier, with shows inspiring games that inspire more shows. How did we get here? To find out, I reached out to Geoff Thew, the founder and host of the hit anime YouTube channel, Mother’s Basement . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Dec 8

Visit patreon.com/postgames to get bonus segments, early access, and exclusive monthly episodes like "The birth of Pokémon: 30 years ago, a young game critic imagined the biggest franchise on the planet" for $5 Visit post.games to get full episodes for free, including links to all games and stories referenced in today's show UPDATES Before we get to this week’s episode, I have two important updates! Post Games mailbag returns: I’m collecting listener voice notes for my final mailbag episode of 2025. I’d love questions reflecting on 2025 or looking forward to 2026. But you’re welcome to ask anything related to games! Here’s how to email me audio using a smartphone and any voice notes app. The First Official Post Games Movie Screening : This Friday, I’ll be hosting a screening of Mortal Kombat (1995) at The Frida in Santa Ana, CA. I’ll have some rare Post Games shirts and hats on sale. I’d love to see you there, so if you come, please say hello! THIS WEEK ON POST GAMES The Game Awards isn’t the Oscars. It’s not the Tonys. If we’re being generous, it shares the same pop cultural status as the modern MTV Music Video Awards. But even if the show is a bit embarrassing and largely serves as an advertisement for future games, it matters. It matters to big game publishers and tiny developers alike. All nominees stand to not only get a healthy dose of public praise, but a burst of press and a spike in sales. Especially if they win. With more games released in 2025 than in any other year, awareness is invaluable. The Game Awards claimed a 2024 audience of 154 million streams, which would mean more people watched it than the Super Bowl. Even if the audience is actually half that number, then The Game Awards remains one of the most widely seen annual broadcasts in the world. So this week on Post Games, we take The Game Awards seriously. My guest is the only year-round Game Awards beat reporter and analyst, Polyon’s Oli Welsh. Act 1: The history of The Game Awards Act 2: How The Game Awards actually work Patreon bonus: What The Game Awards got right… and very wrong Act 3: The news of the week See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Dec 1

Get video versions of every episode, bonus segments, and monthly exclusives for $5 at patreon.com/postgames Get free show notes at post.games This week on Post Games, “Life Before and After Releasing Blue Prince”: Act 1: The Days Before Blue Prince Patreon bonus: The Magic site that made Blue Prince possible Act 2: The Days Before The Game Awards Patreon bonus: Blue Prince: The Movie? Blue Prince 2? Act 3: News of the Week See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Nov 24

Get full show notes for free at post.games Get bonus and video episodes, extra segments, and more for $5 at patreon.com/postgames Welcome to The Inaugural Post Games Thanksgiving Special! I’ve invited 19 people from across video games to share what they’re thankful for. They could celebrate a game, a person, a place, a trend, an idea, or whatever else inspires them. Our guests come from across the entertainment and media industries, including award-winning indie game designers, a former executive from a AAA publisher, brilliant text-based critics, beloved audio-only hosts, a contract-securing union leader, and a good ol' fashioned movie star. Here's the party's guest list! Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Kirk Hamilton Christian Donlan Jenny Jiao-Hsia Lucy James Austin Walker Chris Novak Tina Sanchez O’Hara Blessing Adeoye Jr. Sarah Elmahleh Giovanni Colantonio Najay Greenidge Chris Bratt Nina Freeman Frank Lantz Kitty Calis and Jan Willem Nijman Evan Narcisse Because this episode is a holiday special, and because we have so many guests, there are no acts and no news of the week. Instead, what follows are nearly twenty notes of gratitude from our brilliant guests. And Patreon subscribers get an extra-long personal note from me, in which I talk about what I’m grateful for this year: the games, the movies, the books, the music, the people, and most importantly, the opportunity to do this show. We have so many delicious dishes to plop on your plate, so let’s work our way around the buffet! This week on Post Games: The Thanksgiving Special 19 guests share what part of video game culture they’re thankful for Why I’m grateful for change and how you can create your own On the Patreon - Only $5!!! Bonus segment: Why I’m thankful for change (and how you can create your own) Plus, the films, movies, books, ideas, and other things I’m thankful for Early access to ad-free episodes Video versions of new episodes! Five hour-long episodes of Video Game Journalism 101, including the new episode on storytelling Free game of the week This week in video game links What else I’m enjoying All of that and more for only $5 a month! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Nov 17

Get extra segments, video episodes, bonus episodes, and early access at patreon.com/postgames Get full episode notes for free at post.games I was stunned when I first saw Cave Crave, a VR game in which the player squeezes through dark tunnels, the gaps so tight that the character must hold their breath, causing red light to pulse. As your virtual lungs empty, you see the blood vessels in your eyes To my surprise, the dark, suffocating caves of Cave Crave were just the beginning of both its terror and its depth. This week on Post Games: A trip into a real cave that became a tomb Act 1: The game that traps you in a dark, tight hole Act 2: Recreating the infamous Nutty Putty Cave Patreon Bonus: A history of the Steam Machine and the “living room” PC Act 3: News of the week See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Nov 10

Post Games for $1!! - The Early Bird, Not-Quite-Black Friday Sale Rather than compete with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I’m running my holiday deal early. Subscribe to the Patreon before 11/14 and get your first month for $1. Yes, you read that right. A buck gets you... Video episodes! Weekly bonus segments! 5 deep dives on storytelling, reviews, and media! 1 oral history of Street Fighter: The Movie! 25 incredible interviews with the most fascinating people in video games! Expanded newsletters: Free game of the week The best video game stories of the week What else I’m enjoying Access to community group chats! This episode is a bit unusual. I’m chatting with a talented game developer who also happens to be a friend. I’ve known Joel Burgess for many years, dating back to his time helping to design open-world RPGs for AAA studios. He currently serves as the Studio Head of the indie studio Soft Rains, which has been busy preparing the debut of its first game. Ambrosia Sky is a sci-fi immersive sim in which you play as a death cleaner. Picture Powerwash Simulator spliced with BioShock, and then add the NYTimes obituaries, and you’re not far off. This week, Ambrosia Sky: Act 1 hits Steam. What does it feel like to launch a video game, particularly as the head of a studio, responsible for not just the success of the game but the business? The stress. The joy. The mixed sense of finishing one race, and in the current age of DLC, updates, and additional acts, starting another marathon. This week on Post Games: what it’s actually like to release a video game in 2025. Act 1: The chaos of making a video game in the 2020s Act 2: The moments before pressing publish Patreon bonus: How Joel’s dog inspired the look and soul of Dogmeat in Fallout 4 Act 3: News of the week See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Nov 3

Get extra segments, video episodes, bonus episodes, and early access at patreon.com/postgames Get full episode notes for free at post.games Sure, spooky season is over. But listeners, the scary season has just begun at Post Games. To prepare you, I have invited one of my favorite horror critics, Ashley Bardhan, to explain the appeal of playing horror games – and how they might make your life less scary. This is one of my favorite (and most surprising) conversations yet! Act 1: The case for playing more horror games Act 2: Horror as therapy Patreon bonus: 5 horror games for the holiday season Act 3: The news of the week See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Oct 27

Get video episodes, extra segments, bonus episodes, and early access at www.patreon.com/postgames Get full show notes free at post.games Few video games achieve mainstream cultural relevance. Fewer still get labeled as "art." And only a handful of games that get through the culling manage to retain their relevance across decades. Shadow of the Colossus is the exception to the rules of video games. What makes it so unique? How has its place in gaming culture evolved? And why does it play a special part in the life of today's guest, video essayist and author Jacob Geller? Act 1: Why Shadow of the Colossus never lost its relevance Act 2: How Shadow of the Colossus launched a critic’s career Patreon bonus: The future of video essays about video games Act 3: News of the Week Art by James Bareham Theme by Mark Sparling See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .