255 episodes
Bonfireside Chat - A Dark Souls and Bloodborne Podcast Duckfeed.tv
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- Leisure
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4.8 • 155 Ratings
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An undead favourite. From Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross, the creators of "Watch Out for Fireballs!", Bonfireside Chat is a podcast dedicated entirely to the Souls series of games. Starting with Dark Souls, we take a journey through the areas of the game and comment on lore, gameplay, bossfights... everything. Praise the Sun!
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Shadow of the Erdtree Trailer Reaction
This morning saw the release of the first trailer for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC expansion for Elden Ring, and we think it looks pretty neat. So we recorded a little reaction episode and are making it available for everyone to share in the excitement.
In this episode we also discuss our tentative plans for covering the DLC. Since it's releasing on June 21, 2024 and we need to play it before we can structure the season, don't expect in-depth coverage until sometime in July. We will likely put up a first impressions episode shortly after release to tide you over, though.
Bonfireside Chat will return for what appears to be a lengthy season, based on all of the stuff shown in the trailer. The format of the show will likely remain unchanged, and Real Lich Hours will continue its normal release schedule as well.
We're excited to have you along for the ride. Now let's go touch that arm! -
273: Roundtable Roundtable Farum Azula and Mohgwyn Palace
In this very special public feed episode, we're talking about late game areas with our audience and special guests Austin Walker* and SekiroDubi (*not pictured)!
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212 Unlocked: Stormveil Castle (Part 2)
This is an unlocked, free-for-everyone version of our second episode about Stormveil Castle. Want more? Check out our [Patreon](patreon.com/duckfeedtv). Happy Elden Ring Anniversary and DLC Announcement!
We've been in the shadow of Stormveil Castle for the entire game, learning of Godrick's misdeeds... and it's time to make him pay. This episode picks up at the courtyard of Stormveil Castle and goes through the Godrick the Grafted boss fight, and we also talk about activating his Great Rune at the tower. -
211 Unlocked: Stormveil Castle (Part 1)
This is an unlocked, free-for-everyone version of our first episode about Stormveil Castle. Episode 2 will come out next week. Want more? Check out our [Patreon](patreon.com/duckfeedtv). Happy Elden Ring Anniversary and DLC Announcement!
It's time we finally show that horny bastard Margit what we're made of, so we storm Stormveil Castle and find the horrors inside. This is part one of two, covering the Margit fight, the insides of the castle walls, Sorcerer Rogier, and the grisly grafting kitchens. Next week's episode will take us up through the Godrick fight. -
203: An Introduction to Elden Ring
On this first big episode of the Elden Ring series, we go over Elden Ring's mechanics and generalities in broad strokes. What's returning from previous From games? What's been improved? What's brand new? We talk about as many systems and aesthetics as we can, in order to establish a basic understanding before we dive into more lore-heavy parts of the game.
In two weeks, we will talk about the Limgrave West portion of Elden Ring's world. This episode will be the first available exclusively at our Patreon page. -
202: Elden Ring First Impressions
Rise, Tarnished, and attend the first episode about Elden Ring! There's no way to describe the great unclenching that happened when we realized that Elden Ring is, in fact, good. Whether that bears out over the course of the entire game remains to be seen, but we have high hopes. This episode covers our first impressions after about a week of having the game, and we also lay out our current reckon on how the season will shape up.
If this is your first time here, we're Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross, a duo of hosts who make Bonfireside Chat. Since 2013 we've talked about Souls games in high detail, in addition to talking about FromSoft's earlier games, their influences, and the whole galaxy of Soulslikes that spun off of Dark Souls' popularity.
This show comes out every other Sunday, and it's normally available only to our Patrons. If you back at the $5 tier you gain access to every Premium episode of Bonfireside Chat, you can listen to hundreds of hours of patron-exclusive content. If you decide to back us, you can check out how to get your content by looking at this post.
This episode and the next episode, covering the game's general mechanics and its opening, will be free for all. We really appreciate you listening.
Customer Reviews
Banger podcast
Review in the title.
Best podcast for souls discussion
At times this podcast is absolutely fantastic and I have not found a better one to listen to for indepth discussions of soulsborne games. The first season takes us through the world of the first Dark Souls game using an area by area approach, discussing the various gameplay encounters as well as the lore and characters of the game. It is infectious how passionate both hosts (and guests) are about this game and it is a joy to listen to. I became more interested in the lore and story of the game after listening, and after reading further about the game and watching lore videos it seems that whilst there are not really any unique or original takes in this podcast, it does a great job of laying out the most prominent and well thought out theories and then discussing them.
The seconds season is just as much fun to listen to as the first, this time taking an indepth view of Demon's Souls.
I had a lot of trepidation before listening to the Dark Souls 2 season as unlike a lot of people I think it is an excellent game, despite being my least favourite in the series. Thankfully the hosts focus on the positives of the game without dwelling on the negatives. The negatives are acknowledged but on the whole the ratio of positive to negative discussion is around 95:5. Most online discourse for Dark Souls 2 is negative so I was pleasantly surprised by the approach taken for this season.
The Bloodborne season starts to get more difficult to listen to. I agree with almost every criticism that the hosts level at the game, however I much prefer to focus on the things that Bloodborne does well, in much the same way that I don't like to dwell on the negatives of Dark Souls 2. The ratio of positive to negative discussion feels around 75:25 for this season. I still enjoyed the season but not quite as much as the first three.
The Dark Souls 3 season is a far more difficult listen due to a disproportionate amount of time spent on the negative aspects of the game and its lore. Eventually I decided to start skipping ahead during some of the long, negative meandering as I would rather listen to discussion of the positive things about the game than listen to what can seem like an endless stream of complaints. I often agree with what the hosts are saying and I don't doubt that their evident frustrations with the game are genuine, but it just isn't fun to listen to such negativity for such long periods of time. The positive to negative ratio feels around 20:80 for this season.
I have seen other reviews mention the political views of the hosts. I did not find this to be egregious but this is possibly due to me being in agreement with most of (if not all) of their political views. If I had an opposing political outlook then I might have more problems and I can see why it could be grating for anyone who just wants a podcast to talk about soulsborne games.
Overall this is a very good show and I would recommend the first few seasons to anyone who is interested in the Soulsborne games. Your mileage may vary on later seasons depending on your tolerance for negativity.
Feels like playing the games with friends
Love this podcast! I’ve been playing and listening along in sync to Bloodborne. I’d never played a FromSoftware game and I was late enough to the party I have no one to experience it with. It’s a friendly, funny and nerdy vibe in the best way that feels inclusive. This has made it feel like I’m part of a passionate community who love the lore and the challenges without it ever being about trying to show off by playing a hard game. I also have found extra things I hadn’t realised I missed in the levels in time to go back and try them out, so I’ve got to appreciate the full game. Thanks both :)