Idle Weekend

(The original version of this file had a minute-long gap about 36 minutes in. The updated version is fixed—sorry about that!) Inspired by Danielle's Dark Souls misery and Rob's experience with hardcore sims, the Weekenders ponder the costs and the pleasures of high investment games. Is it really worth dozens of hours of your busy life to defeat an imaginary dragon, or to land a phantom plane on a digital aircraft carrier? Do the highest highs always have to be accompanied by the lowest lows? And is "get good" ever an appropriate response to whining about difficult games? No. The answer to that is no.

We here on Idle Weekend are pretty fond of story-based games, so you can imagine we have fond feelings for the genre terribly known as "walking simulators." The weekenders chat about Adr1ft, a space-walking simulator, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, a ghost walking simulator, in order to suss out the future of the genre.

The question used to be whether or not to play a game. Now, it's whether or not to Let's Play a game, and man, we wish we had a better term for it. Controversy over whether or not Let's Play video cut into indie sales has us pondering the ways and means of the form. Elsewhere, we tackle the evergreen subject of "objective" game reviews.

The Weekenders ponder the strange case of the Wii U, a weird console from a company that only makes weird consoles these days, with some of the best games of the last few years. Has Nintendo Splatooned its way into the Wii U's demise? Is the Wii U the new Dreamcast?

It's GDC week! Which means the Weekenders have serious FOMO. Rob is dealing with it by playing a ton of Burnout Paradise, one of the finest arcade racers ever produced. Danielle went to GDC for two days, and has the burned-out vocal cords to prove it.

Like a perfect diamond wrapped in layers of greasy wrapping paper, this week we're talking about great games that happened to be buried in... other stuff. Does a focus on meaty game length ruin a wonderful, if shorter, experience, or merely water it down? Helping us answer these questions are the aliens, wolf men, succubi and vampires that we know and love (and spend too much time with).

Idle Weekend invites you to a judgment-free zone where the hosts reveal their gaming soft spots. You know, those juicy indulgences that will always call to you, whether it's the fashionable (or acclaimed) thing of the moment or not. For your intrepid hosts, those siren songs may include cyberpunk, weird horror, learning new places, and, naturally, The Witcher 3.

The Weekenders are joined by cyberpunk expert and friend of the show Austin Walker of Giant Bomb to talk about our dreams of the 90s. SUPERHOT has us in a 90s cyberpunk frame of mind, so we take a jog down the information superhighway paved by Hackers, The Net, and Strange Days. It's a transhumanist treat!

Is there a right way to play, or are video games the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups of the entertainment world? Are you doing it wrong? Are WE doing it wrong? The Weekenders investigate. On the way, they encounter Sherlock Holmes, shrieking YouTube streamers, and one very pissed-off alien named Frankie the Xenomorph.

The Weekenders welcome longtime friend Tom Chick to the show to talk about how skill matters in our ability to understand games. Can we ever truly "get" something we're terrible at? Do some games give us an ego boost that we should consider in reviews? Also this week: XCOM 2 gives Rob the howling fantods, Danielle yells at empty rooms in The Witness, and Tom has strong opinions about MOBAs.

In a slightly tardy Idle Weekend (sorry!), our hosts ponder what makes apocalyptic video games so damned entertaining. Is it their artful graffiti? The heroism at the end of the world? The gank-or-be-ganked mentality that comes with every helicopter landing? Then weekenders also find inspiration in the unlikeliest moment: after four hours of staring at one puzzle in The Witness. Plus, more on game reviews, Steam, and a whole lot of Rocky.

What makes a "prestige" game? Is it arty graphics? Heady themes? Years of adoration in the press? Difficult puzzles mixed with BBC lectures? The Witness is only the most recent example of the phenomenon. Elsewhere, there are adventures to be had rating bad video game movies and spoiling the hell out of Fargo Season 2 in a post-show free for all. (But don't worry, we made it easy to skip!) Wear your fluffiest coat!

The Weekenders take on their meatiest discussion of 2016 (so far) in their handling of critical consensus. Does it hold games back? Does it mess with game reviewers' tender hearts? Are Kane and Lynch the real MVPs? Does it necessarily suck if you go to Mars in a broken spaceship? What about settling those deserts in Kharak?

The Weekenders travel wide and far, with thoughts on advanced space-cities and train travel for the undead. Bigger questions are tackled, including: is Resident Evil cheesiness good? Is it wrong to make a game about a terrible disease? Should we have any heroes at all? Strap on your "Don't Be A Piece of Shit" wristband, and join us on our journey!

Welcome our first-ever guest to the show: one Jake Rodkin, Idle Thumb and Firewatch-maker, to weigh in on animated and mo-capped performance in games. Plus, the Weekenders ponder topical questions, such as: What is a keyframe? Are speed runners performance artists? Are we all just faceless members of cultural demographics? And, once and for all, we come to a decision on whether Rob is crazy for liking Limitless.

Weekenders Danielle and Rob have had a hell of a 2015, and they want to tell you all about it. Well, mostly they want to tell you about the games they loved best in the (old) year. Plus, some of their favorite game music of 2015, and tales of unusual video game improvisation!

Idle Weekend is visited by the ghost of video games past, present, and future, as Danielle and Rob excavate their holiday memories for your amusement, and look toward the year ahead. Hear about Danielle's bloody-faced determination in Diddy Kong Racing, and appreciate how Dark Forces taught Rob the true meaning of Christmas. It's a gaming miracle!

This episode, the weekenders ponder the curious monstrosity of Destiny, a game that still has Rob caught firmly in its snares. Danielle, meanwhile, is caught Raiding Tombs, trying to raise a floating crypt with an ancient water wheel just like the good old days. Ancient architecture certainly makes for fertile rebooting ground. You can learn more about the show at idleweekend.net, and send us questions for our weekend correspondence at questions@idleweekend.net. To keep up with the latest from us, follow us on Twitter at @idleweekend.

Join hosts Rob Zacny and Danielle Riendeau as they kick off Idle Weekend—and yes, they really mean it this time! The Idle Weekenders take on the new-and-improved The Game Awards, wherein actual good games were honored, and talk up 2015's obsession with bigger, broader and more... badass? open worlds. You can learn more about the show at idleweekend.net, and send us questions for our weekend correspondence at questions@idleweekend.net. To keep up with the latest from us, follow us on Twitter at @idleweekend.