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Deep Listens
Deep Listens
Author: Deep Listens
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A bi-weekly video game book club that takes a deep look at one game every episode. We discuss the literary elements, philosophical ideas, and game design decisions that make games great while keeping things funny and friendly. Tune in for some close readings of your favorite games! Email us at deeplistenspodcast@gmail.com
418 Episodes
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In this episode Gino and Em interview David "Shoy" -REDACTED-, the developer of Cycle! We discuss the game's inspirations, how David designed the various metroidvania elements of the game, what it feels like to develop a game over 7+ years, and how the initial movement abilities in the game impacted the game design. We also cover lessons David learned while finishing his first full indie game as someone who had no formal game design training. Follow David at https://bsky.app/profile/shoyslayer.bsky.social Pick up Cycle at https://dvtzr.itch.io/cycle or https://store.steampowered.com/app/1947160/CYCLE/ Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this most terrifying and seasonally appropriate episode, Off the Deep End delves into the origins of every single spooky video game to ever be made, probably. It turns out Sweet Home isn't just a bit of trivia you bring up when talking about the origins of Resident Evil, it's also a RPG! Adam, Braden, and Chris not only played the 1989 Famicom title, they also watched the movie it's based on! One of these things is better than the other, and you'll have to listen to find out! Also featuring: bad singing. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Join Adam, Tyler, Jason, and Justin as they kick-off season 2 of Stargate SG-1 by reviewing its first four episodes: "Serpent's Lair", "In the Line of Duty", "Prisoners", and "The Gamekeeper". They discuss topics such as father/son bonding trips, Regular-Ass Goa'ulds (RAGs), Grandma Space Hitler, and Getting Over It with Lt. Barkley. All of which comes along with more anime references than you would think. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Gino, Pete, and Braden "ArbitraryWater" -REDACTED- are joined by Jess "VoidBurger" O'Brien to discuss Silent Hill f! We cover the game's entire first playthrough storyline. We discuss the difficult combat, great setting, and best-in-class story! Spoilers abound so listen at your own peril! You can find Jess's work at https://twitter.com/VoidBurger, https://www.youtube.com/voidburger, https://www.patreon.com/Voidburger, and https://www.twitch.tv/voidburger If you can, please donate to help our friends in Ashville recover from the impact of Hurricane Helene: https://belovedasheville.com/ Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Gino, Pete, and Chris "ZombiePie" -REDACTED- discuss the 2025 NBA season awards, the revamped Nuggets, the Kings, the neverending drama in Philly (war never changes), and 2025 season predictions. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Chris "ZombiePie" -REDACTED-, and Jeff finishFinal Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light! We pick up where we left off with the story and the game's context and then rank it on our grand Ranking of Fantasies! Check out the current ranking of Fantasies here: bit.ly/deepfinal Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode of Amateur Hour Adam "Borgmaster" -REDACTED-, Tyler "Grav" -REDACTED-, and Gino give updates on the latest football news, discuss their favorite teams, and traverse all of the conferences of the NFL. We cover every team before checking in on the current states of Adam and Tyler's models. They seem to be holding up this year! Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Gino, Pete, and Em discuss Two Point Museum! We cover the game's dry humor, wet museums, and average moisture people management! Come for the exibits, stay to hear our creative solution for employees who demand raises! Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Join Adam, Tyler, Jason and Justin in this episode as they wrap up the first season of Stargate SG-1 by covering "Tin Man", "There But for the Grace of God", "Politics", and "Within The Serpent's Grasp". Join them as they handle such topics as a punchable robot, the end of the world, the U.S. political system, and stun guns that disintegrate you. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Off the Deep End is on the pulse of hot and relevant video games this week with a look at a video game from last year that you likely forgot came out, Dragon Age The Veilguard. Can moxie and half-decent combat overcome a deeply troubled development? Did Braden really say he wants this game to be *more* like Destiny? Is Dragon Age even a coherent series? Are their jokes about this being The Last Bioware game more or less funny in light of the EA buyout news? All this and more talking in this week's thrilling episode! Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Gino, Pete, and Em manage to finally be topical and discuss Hollow Knight: Silksong. We discuss the game's difficulty, how to judge a game that is intentionally antagonistic, and the excellent craft that went into the game. This discussion gets pretty passionate on all sides! Hopefully we work out some of the tensions that folks are feeling playing this game! Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Join the crew of Adam, Tyler, Jason, and Justin as they talk through the back-end of Season 1 of Stargate SG-1 with "Singularity", "Cor-ai", "Enigma", and "Solitudes". Among other things, they grapple with being played like a damn fiddle, the Nuremburg defense, Schrodinger the Cat, space simps, and hypothermia. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Gino "ThatPinguino" Grieco and Braden "ArbitraryWater" REDACTED join forces to talk about the hottest genre to hit the indie scene in the last ten years. No, they're not talking about cozy farming games or boomer shooters, instead they're talking about deckbuilders! If you've ever played Slay the Spire and wanted to know what else was out there, don't worry, they've got you covered. Like, seriously. They've both played a lot of card games and if you want to hear two adult men get into the weeds about what makes a good "One of Those" you might get something out of this! Games Covered: HELLCARD Loop Hero Tales and Tactics One Step from Eden Wildfrost Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this inaugural episode of the Deep World of Sports we have a full house of hosts to talk about the NBA, NFL, F1, CFL, and Sumo! This is a good ol' fashioned variety show with multiple segments! We've got a check in with the LA Clippers in our NBA segment, a week 2 NFL check induring Amateur Hour, an F1 comings and goings review, and a state of Sumo check-in! We even have Canadian football content! Let us know if you like this new format! Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Gino, Pete, and Em discuss Vampire Survivors! We cover the game's delicious juice, whether it's a bullet hell or a musou, and why the game is so dang Italian! We also discuss the grey area between inspiration and plagiarism. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Adam, Chris, and Braden are jumping off the deep end to discuss the most important question facing us right now: Is Star Ocean 3 the median PS2 JRPG? Alongside in-depth discussions over its mechanics and a summary of its bonkers story, the three manage to also find some time to discuss important concepts like animation cancels, whether an ending can ruin a game, and an important metric known as "The JRPG Dingus Quotient". Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
It's time to get a little bit fooly and a little bit cooly as our resident Ojisans discuss the seminal 2000 anime FLCL. Does it live up to their memories? How obvious is the symbolism? If a pink haired woman hit you in the head with a guitar, would a suggestively shaped horn come out of your forehead? Because the anime is only six episodes, they also briefly go over all of FLCL's bad sequels that came out a decade and a half later. Also Braden and Chris' friendship origin story and bemoaning how Grantland used to be good. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
In this episode Gino, Pete, and Em discuss some of the co-op games that are sweeping Twitch: Lethal Company, R.E.P.O., and PEAK! We cover the elements that define the Goof 'Em Up genre (can we get this genre name to stick?) and what makes each of these games distinct. We try to break down the funny emergent gameplay systems and steer folks to the better games in the genre. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Join Adam, Tyler, Jason, and Justin in their continuing misadventures through Stargate SG-1 as they cover the season one episodes, "The Torment or Tantalus", "Bloodlines", "Fire and Water", and "Hathor". Join them as they contend with a naked old guy, being a bad dad, a socially awkward fishman, and a bathtub full of gasoline. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net
Gino "ThatPinguino" Grieco and Braden "ArbitraryWater" REDACTED join forces to talk about the hottest genre to hit the indie scene in the last ten years. No, they're not talking about cozy farming games or boomer shooters, instead they're talking about deckbuilders! If you've ever played Slay the Spire and wanted to know what else was out there, don't worry, they've got you covered. Like, seriously. They've both played a lot of card games and if you want to hear two adult men get into the weeds about what makes a good "One of Those" you might get something out of this! Games Covered: Alina of the Arena Balatro Beneath Oresa Cobalt Core Fights in Tight Spaces Luck Be A Landlord Monster Train 2 Roguebook Trials of Fire Vault of the Void Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net






