Abnormal Mapping

Just the tip of a great collection of podcasts across the network about all manner of media. Video games rule though.

The hosts don’t provide critical commentary on games so much as talk at length about their own personal tastes and experiences, speaking in constant hyperbolic generalisations like “X is a bad game that no one wants to play” and “everyone loved Y”. As someone who hasn’t played a lot of the games they discuss, it comes across as extremely juvenile and lacking in substance. Another point of contention for me is their articulation — both hosts, but especially Jackson, always sound like they’re rushing to spit their words out as fast as possible, and I have to set playback to 0.75x speed for it to be listenable. Overall, this podcast feels more like a conversation between gamer friends at a cafeteria table than serious media analysis. That might be enjoyable for some, but it’s not my thing (or perhaps I should say “it’s a bad podcast that no one wants to listen to”).

This is a great podcast! The hosts discuss a different game each month, book club style. Crucially, the games are usually old and sometimes niche, exposing the listener to a much wider variety of games than a typical games podcast might discuss. The discussions themselves are rich, thought-provoking and funny. Great stuff.

In-depth, intelligent discussions about a medium where it can be hard to find this.