Castle Couch Podcast

19:30 - Quantum Break37:20 - Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright46:25 - Hitman53:40  The Division56:05 - Gear VR65:00 - Diablo III: Reaper of Souls69:05 - Andrew's Endgame Radio A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

Suave Endgame Radio19:45 - Monument Valley & Framed21:35 - Blackbar23:00 - Clash of Heroes26:50 - Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 230:40 - Xbox Costumer Survey34:45 - Diablo III: Reaper of Souls36:30 - The Division A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

19:35 - The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing23:50 - Pokemon X27:00 - Stardew Valley30:10 - The Division A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

13:20 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD29:25 - Ultimate Chicken Horse32:20 - Street Fighter V33:25 - Gears of War Ultimate PC34:30 - Progress36:45 - Superhot44:35 - Broforce46:45 - Grim Dawn49:45 - Metro 203356:35 - Stardew Valley65:50 - Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

08:00 - Discussion: Violence Ratings in Games27:05 - Superhot33:50 - Devil's Daggers36:55 - Grim Dawn39:55 - Progress42:05 - Street Fighter V52:05 - Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Patch 3.258:30 - Destiny: The Taken King61:00 - Thief65:00 - Smite (Xbox One) A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

Spy Mammoth25:30 - Tom Clancy's The Division (BETA)39:45 - Far Cry Primal46:00  Devil Daggers48:55 - Tomb of the Mask51:40 - Crashlands54:00 - Destiny59:40 - Styx: Master of Shadows A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

Absolute Zero Love for Trine18:40 - Mailbag: Must-Play Retro Games32:15 - Firewatch47:00 - Unravel56:00 - The Book of Unwritten Tales59:55 - Warframe // Destiny67:30 - That Dragon, Cancer A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

It's certainly easy to have some opinions about The Witness. Here are ours. A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

18:40 - Apple Watch Gaming22:25 - Steam Link17:15 - Elite: Dangerous31:35 - Hand of Fate A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

15:05 - Shadowmatic16:05 - Twofold Inc.21:55 - Rise of the Tomb Raider: 'Baba Yaga' Temple of the Witch DLC28:35 - Elite: Dangerous34:05 - Darkest Dungeon39:00 - Guitar Hero Live!41:05 - The Witness A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

21:25 - That Dragon, Cancer27:25 - Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam35:45 - Oxenfree40:00 - Dragon's Dogma44:30 - Lost in Harmony A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

You'll never believe why Andrew Couto is so shocked! CLICK CLICK CLICK The Big Feels Award14:05 - Discussion: The Ideal Video Game23:25 - Oxenfree31:00 - Thomas Was Alone32:40 - Badlands: GOTY Edition33:30 - Prune34:50 - HuniePopGet in touch with us direct: podcast@castlecouch.comor on twitter: @raphbennett | @andrewcouto | @booboobouchard | A direct link to the iTunes page.Many thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

18:00 - Oculus Rift and Virtual Reality24:40 - Pony Island29:30 - King's Quest: Chapter 238:10 - Call of Duty: Black Ops 338:40 - Super Mario Maker40:00 - Amplitude43:55 - Hexcells45:20 - Tap My Katamari47:15 - Destiny A direct link to the iTunes page.We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at podcast@castlecouch.comMany thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

The final deliberation of 2015. We're lock our site-wide Top 10 list in place. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust are all in tow (thanks Disney!) A direct link to the iTunes page.We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at podcast@castlecouch.comMany thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

In an unexpected turn of events, the podcast needed to be broken into even smaller chunks -- fancy that! A direct link to the iTunes page.We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at podcast@castlecouch.comMany thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

Another day, another deliberation. We run down from 18 to 10 games in preparation for ordering our Top 10 list. Yikes! Enjoy,  A direct link to the iTunes page.We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at podcast@castlecouch.comMany thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we couldn't do it without you.

Part One of our deliberation process is here! Our sausage-style podcast begins with a list of 31 games from 2015.The list of nominees in pseudo-order of release date:Life is StrangeGrow HomeMonster Hunter 4: UltimateBloodborneOri and the Blind ForestAxiom VergePlug & PlayTales from the BorderlandsLifelineWitcher 3: Wild HuntSnakebirdSplatoonSunsetHer StoryThe Magic CircleRocket LeagueContradictionEverybody’s Gone to the RaptureFlywrenchMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainSuper Mario MakerSOMAUndertaleDropsyThe Beginner’s GuideRock Band 4QuiplashCibeleKeep Talking and Nobody ExplodesRise of the Tomb RaiderFallout 4 A direct link to the iTunes page.We'd love to read your emails! Send us questions at podcast@castlecouch.comMany thanks to our friends The JEM for letting us use their music in the show. More info on The JEM can be found on their website: http://www.thejemband.comDONATE TO CASTLE COUCHPlease consider donating to Castle Couch. All of our content is handmade with real love — we c

Much to everyone else's chagrin, this category exists as an opportunity to use the phrase inside baseball. The idea for this award was to talk about games that explore game culture specific ideas.  Runners-upAxiom Verge “A sense of discovery I haven’t found in any other Metroidvania lately, because it’s in the same path, but slightly off.” — Olivier Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist “You never see Langeskov, the tiger, or the cursed emerald — which is so cool” — Anna The Magic Circle “Making fun of AAA development that [assume] somehow your player might get confused.

Maybe not necessarily a tacit endorsement of binary decision making in games, we still wanted an excuse to talk about the different ways branching storytelling was used in 2015. And of course, who wore it best.  Runners-upLifeline “You are a character in Lifeline” — Raphael Tales from the Borderlands “The best stuff in Borderlands are the small moments of getting to play the goof your way.” — Raphael Until Dawn “Gamified choice in a way ... that you never feel bad picking the “wrong” choice” — Olivier Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

A lot of games are hard. Here are some sterling examples of difficulty; games that are using challenge in fantastic ways. Runners-upBloodborne “brilliant cross-section between western and eastern design, the result [something] that’s almost a throwback, but is still modern enough.” — Raphael Flywrench “The levels are even faster than Super Meat Boy (2010). Levels are [regularly] 5 seconds.” — Olivier Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate “You don’t make mistakes in Monster Hunter, or else you’re going to end up being eaten by monsters, and you don’t want to cause you’re playing with your friends and that’s embarrassing.”