Zero Brightness

Let's talk about the brilliant works of Keiichiro Toyama and how nice it is to see 90s Japanese Auteurs get a second chance at fulfilling their bizarre creative dreams.

Josh tells a dedicated hater all of the reasons why Returnal is an all-time banger. Hater responds.

...in which we take a look at Carrier, Illbleed, Blue Stinger, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and The Ring: Terror's Realm

Because America is the Real Survival Horror

This time, we talk about the rise of the Sega Dreamcast. Next time, we talk about its library of Horror Games.

Episode 177 is all about getting back into fighting games, loving the Darkstalkers series, embracing weird hobbies, growing up in the early 00s, playing a lot of different 90s capcom classics and going to the arcade.

Justin joins to talk about three amazing indie horror games: Shinkansen 0, Mouthwashing and Hollowbody. Happy Halloween, ya filthy animals!

Vincent joins to discuss the highs and lows of Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 Remake - a game that we do not agree on, sort of. We get into the things they've changed as well as the many references to the original - and how it all comes together in this year's biggest AAA horror game.

It's supposed to be phrased like a question but. c'mon, we all know these games suck. Justin and Bea join to help me sort through this lamentable group of games. What is a 3D Castlevania game? A miserable pile of secrets!

a short seminar.

This is a little taste of the Patreon-exclusive show ZB+. Subscribe for more! https://www.patreon.com/zerobrightness

We played Crow Country and wanted to talk about how amazing it is - but then we also wanted to talk about 90s rap, bad remakes, the video game industry, BBLs and how we're the world's pre-eminent Horror Video Game Podcast. We the best music!

Monica and I made an episode about the new Alone in the Dark game and we are definitely getting cancelled for it.

A bonus ep from the Patreon giving you a run-down of all the various attempts to reboot Alone in the Dark. We'll have a full episode on the new game soon. Check out our Patreon for more like this!

Ian (from the band/podcast/substack, etc. Lamniformes) stops by to talk about their fantastic new album - a very nu-metal influenced experimental rock record - as well as some favorite topics on this show, including using Dark Souls to process loss and the recent surge in Y2K nostalgia. Ian's new record: https://linktr.ee/Lamniformes The Dark Souls Article: https://lamniformes.substack.com/p/my-time-in-lordran?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fdark%2520souls&utm_medium=reader2

Josh stops by to talk about all the recent Kojima-related news and speculate on Death Stranding 2, OD and more. We also sideline into all sort of trifling BS - as Hideo would want it. Check out Josh's music: https://seracmpls.bandcamp.com/album/the-ledger https://cachempls.bandcamp.com/album/cache

Some thoughts on slowing down, changing your brain, playing dungeon crawlers and petting every cat that you see.

A bonus ep from the patreon while you wait for the main show to return. Subscribe over there for more stuff like this!

Episode 167 is: a conversation with Justin about Parasite Eve - an appreciation of that game's weirdly awesome mechanics, insanely good music and unexpected Christmas spirit - an exploration of why Jingle All the Way is the best xmas movie by far - some thoughts on goop

Episode 166 is: about Palestine - about sci-fi - about humanism - about empathy - about people

Episode 165 is: a slightly unhinged chat with Josh about Hollow Knight and game design in modern metroidvanias - a list of my favorite internet videos - another list of the weirdest places I've ever slept - kind of a weird one

Episode 164 is: some thoughts on Alan Wake 2 after playing about half of the game

Episode 163 is: a discussion with Justin about a bunch of indie games - a list of stuff for you to check out this Halloween - some thoughts on How Fish is Made, Maple County, Parasocial, Stop Burying Me Alive Beautiful, Other Side and C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D.

Episode 162 is: an exploration of the original Resident Evil 3 and the approach Capcom took when remaking one of the more unique entries in the RE series

Episode 161 is: a run-down of the various versions, editions, remakes and re-releases of one of the greatest horror video games of all time - Resident Evil 2

Episode 160 is: sort of about the time I tried to make an episode and failed - sort of about Shadow Hearts, Koudelka and Baroque - sort of about memory and nostalgia - sort of about media consumption

Episode 159 is: a discussion with Justin about the fantastic narrative horror game Decarnation - some thoughts on good storytelling in video games - a few random observations on topics including Metal Wolf Chaos, Afroman and mispronouncing words

Episode 158 is: a discussion of Death Mechanics in video games - some thoughts on Death as a Diegetic element - an essay that touches on Shadow Man, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Dark Souls, Nier: Automata and others - not actually as foreboding as the title makes it sound

Episode 157 is: a conversation with Vincent and Monica about Supermassive's The Quarry - an interrogation of Vincent's love for these games (even though they are highly questionable) - an argument about the new Scream movies (and like 15 other movies and TV shows) - some thoughts on werewolf dicks

Episode 156 is: very low-key - some thoughts on the Amnesia series as well as its new entry - kind of an ad for the patreon

Episode 155 is: a conversation with Josh about Hideo Kojima's Snatcher - a discussion of the things that have (and haven't) aged well about the game - an appreciation of Blade Runner and the game's many other 80s film influences - a few thoughts about SimAnt check out Josh's new album at https://cachempls.bandcamp.com/album/cache

episode 154 is: a conversation with Justin about two anime-inspired action-adventure games, Code Vein and Scarlet Nexus - a discussion about good and bad tropes in anime - the discovery that anime vampires are maybe cool actually

Episode 153 is: a conversation with Ellie (You Don't Need Maps)about horror elements in just about every mainline Legend of Zelda game - a deep dive on 80s Dark Fantasy - a discussion of the series' influence on Action-RPGs and internet horror - a breakdown of the shocking similarities between Twilight Princess and My Chemical Romance

Episode 152 is: a conversation with Vincent about the Resident Evil 4 Remake - an exploration of all the different ways we now have to play RE4 (including VR) - some speculation on where the series will go next - a brief discussion of impractical spy gadgets

We discuss the last 7 months of Hollywood News in the Hollywood Minute before going down the rabbit hole to visit a beautiful fantasy world

Episode 151 is: a discussion of the Dark Souls-inspired Soulslike genre including thoughts on Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Death's Gambit, Code Vein, Tunic, Hollow Knight, Mortal Shell and many more; a dissection of the impact that FromSoft has had on modern games; a run down of our likes and dislikes as it pertains to the genre; just a good old-fashioned free-wheeling games discussion

Episode 150 is: a conversation with Justin about what's new in the RE4 remake - a reflection on the surprisingly complex economy of Resident Evil 4 - an appreciation of the suplex - the reveal of the greatest line in video game history

Episode 149 is: two conversations (with Monica and Josh) about the Last of Us TV show - a discussion about writing adaptations - an attempt to figure out how to survive the apocalypse - a psychoanalysis of angry gamers

Episode 148 is: a different take on Resident Evil 4 - a love letter to Funcoland - a defense of my favorite game in the series - an exhaustive breakdown of the best intro sequence in video game history

Episode 147 is: a discussion of the works of Sam Barlow, focusing on Immortality and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - a consideration of FMV games - a deep dive on very weird game design - a conversation about whether or not turning Mulholland Drive into a sort-of-interactive "game" thing was a brilliant idea or the dumbest thing anyone has ever done

We check out another beloved video game movie, Warcraft (2016) and discover new ways to enjoy ourselves in VR.

Episode 146 is: a conversation with Vincent about the new Dead Space Remake - an exploration of what makes a good remake - a total reconsideration of the game in the title - a love letter to the flamethrower

Episode 145 is: A compare/contrast of the original Resident Evil and its Remake - a time lapse video of a grave being cleaned - a small journey through time - the start of season 3. Welcome back

An update on the show and some thoughts on Tunic, one of my new favorite games

We break down our favorite games that we played in 2022 and shoot off into all sorts of hot-take filled tangents

Some thoughts on how genres change over time, including observations about Sitcoms, Super Sad RPGs, Yume Nikki, Earthbound and Omori

We tackle the new DLC content for Resident Evil 8 - including a new story chapter - and discuss why DLC and the constant digital churn of modern capitalism is uhhhhh pretty bad

We watched Walk Tall (2004) and explored the world of seasonal holiday recipes. Yum!

Happy Holidays! We watched Taken (2004) and Christmas with a View (2018) to find out the true meaning of Christmas and Thanksgiving

Justin joins for a discussion of the various elements of Signalis, from the often frustrating survival horror elements to the stunningly well-realized aesthetic and design. We also discuss "daddy games," your mom's favorite book, Bible lore and much more. Spoiler-free until the last 20 minutes, which are marked within

Some thoughts on Signalis, Cyberpunk, Survival Horror and other classic hits. (No spoilers for the first 45ish minutes, light spoilers marked at end)