Came to Play

An emotionally devastating JRPG from France solidifies itself as a serious GOTY contender. PLUS: some thoughts on turn-based games as a whole. 

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has finally received its rumored Remaster! PLUS: Polygon has been sold, and much of its staff laid off, so we do a crash-course in why games journalism matters.

Blue Prince is our first must-play game of the year! PLUS: Tax credit changes in Québec threaten the dev scene in one of Canada's most populous provinces. 

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a nerd game for history nerds, and we liked it! PLUS: the business case for the Nintendo Switch 2. 

Split Fiction reaches for new heights after the success of It Takes Two! Plus: R.E.P.O. joins the likes of Lethal Company, Among Us, and Phasmophobia as high-quality content bait.  Honourable Mentions: The Pit, Triangle Strategy, and how to plan a wedding.

We finally play the final game in SuperGiant Games catalogue: Pyre! Plus, Trevor drops a bit of a bomb into the World of Warcraft competitive scene. Trevor's Video Essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUwGkC88sO8&ab_channel=Aqual Reddit Thread + Spreadsheet:  https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveWoW/comments/1j20qjp/an_analysis_and_comparison_of_cutting_edge_guilds/ 

Avowed is the awesome new RPG from Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity devs, and it's so good it has us asking: What's the deal with Bethesda Game Studios? 

A rare double feature! The hit new metroidvania, ENDER MAGNOLIA, and a Game About Diggign A Hole, which is exactly what it sounds like. 

Hyper Light Breaker is a rough start to what we trust will become a fantastic roguelite. PLUS: how video games teach us how to play them.

Hyperfixations episode! Diaper up for a great big ASKA playthrough, and find out how Balatro is stealing husbands from coast to coast.  Media discussed: ASKA, Valheim, Enshrouded, Balatro, Sengoku Dynasty, Tick Tick Boom, and Tunic.

Our favourites from 2024, revisited! Animal Well, Dave the Diver's new updates, and ASKA's Early Access. PLUS: Our most anticipated titles for 2025. Happy New Year!

The beauty of Neva pairs exceptionally well with the gut-punch of Arcane Season Two; guest-starring Friend of the Pod and Arcane Superfan, Trevor. 

We take a look at how Dragon Age came to be, and chat about why The Veilguard is great for most folks; just not us! 

Hot off Steam Next Fest, Windblown is like if Motion Twin made Hades! PLUS: All our questions about the upcoming Game Awards, including Game of the Year. 

Next Fest's Got Femboys! Plus, the first major update for Hades 2.  Stuff Discussed: Scarlet Deer Inn, Skogdal, Rise of the Golden Idol, Windblow, Is This Game Trying to Kill Me?, The House of Tesla, Vending Machine Business Simulator, Luma Island, Voidtrain, Fast Food Simulator, Any Austin and Rotten Mango, and the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. 

Taking a look at the co-op fantasy tavern sim, Ale & Tale, PLUS: Competitive Farming Simulator!  Titles discussed: Ale & Tale Tavern, Star Trucker, PowerWash Simulator, Farming Simulator, Arcane Season 2, Cabin in the Woods, and World of Warcraft: The War Within.

The Plucky Squire is a next-gen take on 2D Zelda games! Plus, we recount some of our favourite gaming memories. 

The return of Jenna, a close up of Star Wars Outlaws, and Dakota gets into World of Warcraft again. Warning: this episode contains Void Elf Foot Pics.

Cult of the Lamb's newest update, and World of Warcraft's tenth expansion: The War Within. 

The crew finally takes a look at Slay the Spire and the admittedly short history of deckbuilder games.    Editorial note: this episode was late because Dakota was camping. Sorry!

Remembering our youth in humanity's first Exoplanet Colony! PLUS: Our ever-growing backlogs. 

Broadway made a visual novel! PLUS: We get a new co-host, and then we play a table-top RPG. 

One of the roguelike genre's greatest hits, PLUS: What's up with the Elden Ring DLC?

Another metroidvania! Kait & Dakota talk the best thing since Hollow Knight: Nine Sols. PLUS: Ubisoft's new showcase of Star Wars Outlaws gameplay.

BioGun injects you into the body of an adorable puppy to fight a virus and save man's bestfriend! It's the perfect game for our healthcare hosts. PLUS: the History of Metroidvanias! Discussed: BioGun, Nine Sols, Super Metroid, Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Brain Breaker, Inscryption, The Acolyte, and Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.    

It's a Seafood Souls-like! Another Crab's Treasure shucks its way into our hearts. Plus: a Hades 2 Update. 

OH MY GODS THEY SURPRISE LAUNCHED HADES 2! We're obsessed, obviously.

The Great Big Fallout episode! We cover all the major entries in the Fallout franchise, plus the brand-new Amazon Prime show. 

The first installment of Replay Randomizer... but we chose this one ourselves: the third Ratchet & Clank game! PLUS: Kait tells us all about how video game movies are made.  Sources: "The History of Video Games Movies" by Eddache (YouTube) "Why do (Most) Video Game Movies Suck" by Ted Nivison (YouTube)

The Stardew Valley episode! Plus, Islands of Insight, and we intro an all-new segment: Replay Randomizer! 

The Remake episode! We take a look at Odin Sphere on the PlayStation 2, its 2016 remake, and ask: What makes a good remake? 

The brand new indie hit Pacific Drive! Is it a survival-horror? Is it a driving sim? Did Kait just throw up in her mouth? Listen and find out! 

Day of the Demo's! Here're all our favourites from February's Steam Next Fest. Media Discussed: NeverGrave: The Witch and The Curse, Crypt Custodian, Backpack Battles, Minami Lane, Coffee Caravan, Pacific Drive, Helldivers 2, The Silt Verses Podcast, and the Haunting of Hill House.

The first Prince of Persia game in 14 years! And what's up with all these layoffs? 

How Hi-Fi Rush redefined rhythm games, and how a 13 year old boy broke TETRIS! 

We LOVED Sea of Stars, and boy there sure are some hot toddies coming in 2024! 

Came to Play GOTY Part Two! The final two rounds, narrowing down our five favourite games of 2023 into THE GAME THAT CAME THE HARDEST!

Came to Play GOTY Part One! Who will take the title? We go through the match-ups of the first round of our bracket, and send five games to the semi-finals! 

Arise, ye GOTY! Today we chat about a 2020 indie platformer, Arise: A Simple Story, and do our prep work for our 2023 Game of the Year conversation! 

BEHIND! We've got hot pots full of EXCELLENT restaurant management co-op games. YES, CHEF! 

Alan knew the podcast was talking about him, and he knew he needed to listen. But the Dark Place wouldn't let him find his headphones. He was trapped. The Alan Wake double-feature! The game that brought us together, plus its daring 2023 sequel. 

A break from the triple-A avalanche with Celeste, the 2018 instant classic platformer! PLUS: Accessibility in Gaming!

Pinocchio is back, and this time: He's Hot. Came to Play Crew looks at Lies of P, PLUS: our spooky season mainstays! Discussed: Lies of P, Dark Souls, Twilight, The Witch, Inside, Little Nightmares, The Haunting of Hill House, the Magnus Archives, Supernatural, the Ring, Hollow Knight, Dredge and the Pale Reach DLC, and Assassin's Creed Mirage.

A quick break from all these triple-A releases with Bastion from SuperGiant Games! Plus, Jenna's Starfield segment, a new theme song, and they made Pinocchio HOT!

The Great Big Baldur's Gate 3 episode, with a special guest star! 

Grab a box and get to work, today we're talking about Unpacking and every other video game house we could think of -- plus, Kait brings a bit of cursed internet mythology to our attention about the Doom mod that took on a creepy little mind of its own. 

Subnautica and Baldur's Gate 3! Why these two at the same time? Because scheduling is HARD! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners takes the stage, plus a high-level look at preserving video game history! 

A desperate dive into Dirtmouth! After our Metroid episode, we talk about the sprawling 2D action of Hollow Knight. Plus: the games you'll never play again!  Find us on Twitter @CameToPlayPod

Dakota's personal all-time fave, Super Metroid (1994) takes the stage in this episode. PLUS: Metroidvanias, the subgenre it created. 

Gris is gorgeous, heart-wrenching, and empowering--plus, how video games are used in mental health treatment, and what they mean to us. We're so glad you came to play