Arrggh! A Video Game Podcast from The Waffling Taylors The Waffling Taylors

We wanted to ask CJ about comfort games: games you like to play when we're just comfy and we're vegging and we just want to shut out the outside world and just go get a load of snacks. So get your snacks, get comfy, and curl up whilst we talk about those games we played.
Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.
Show Notes
From active timer battling to zombie slaying, Waffling Taylors covers video games beyond.In this episode, we are joined by CJ from the Mystery Stone and PhiloSofa Talk podcasts to talk about comfy games. We chat about all manner of comfy games, including everything from frankly insane gameplay challenges no Fill Yoshi and smack talking Gam-gams.
So, without further ado, sit back, grab some snacks, and get ready for this episode entitled "Comfy Games with CJ, Pajama Paladins, and a comfy quest marathon."
Enjoy.
— Squidge
CJ made his return to the show in this episode - you may remember him from the episode we did on Borderlands. But before he could talk with CJ, Squidge wanted to bring attention to Jay's glorious moustache - sadly, the 'stache had to be shaved off between recording this episode and it being released - CJ was asked to introduce himself, and he had this to say:
Hi, I'm CJ. I am of the Mystery Stone and PhiloSofa Talk podcast. Thanks for having me out here, guys.I do have a question about the moustache, though. How long can you smell dinner after you're done eating?
— CJ
And an unrelated comment from Jay on his moustache from a few moments later:
It's been 18 days of me growing it...When I first started growing it, I was aiming for a Ted Lasso. And then one of my friends pointed out, it's what happens if you order Freddie Mercury from Wish, right? Bargain bucket. Freddie Mercury
— Jay
And the topic of conversation quickly changed to CJ's podcasts:
So Mystery Stone is all about spirituality and the esoteric concepts and the higher truths and obtainment of the higher self. Looking inward to really understand the makings of the universe outside of the third dimension.And PhiloSofa Talk is just a freeform conversation about modern philosophy. It's a pretty new show. I'll have the second episode uploaded in a couple of days. But we take classical concepts all the way back, Taoist times, pre-Tao Te Ching, all the way through Greek and up to modern times and apply those concepts to modern day problems and issues and inside thought. And basically, like, the idea is, like, we don't want to do research, so we take what we already know about philosophy, and then we just interview people and just kind of see how people feel. So there's, like, no wrong answers. And it's nice. It's like a way to express your opinions and get your thoughts out without having to worry about a debate.
— CJ

A quick note on something Jay said about "just stream": he meant Just Watch, which is a web service that indexes all of the shows and movies available across all of the main digital platforms and provides links to where you can LEGALLY watch pretty much anything that has ever been released.
Recent Games
The Recent Games segment will not be new to listeners, but in case you're new to the show here's how it goes: we go round the table and discuss one or more game that we've been playing recently, and whether we think it's worth the listeners checking it out. We continue to do this until we've run out of games to discuss.
And this episode was no different.
CJs's Recent Games

Fortnite
Minecraft
Mario Kart Tour
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Hollow Knight
CJ wanted to quickly talk about mobile gaming, too; and this reminded Jay of Army of Darkness: Defense - a tower defence game based on Army of Darkness (aka the third Evil Dead movie). Sadly this game no longer runs on modern Android devices.
Monster Hunter NowFull Show NotesCheck out the full show notes for Squidge's Cross Stitches corner, some extra stuff, and some links to related things. And reach out

Join Squidge as he relives the joys of fighting for justice in the fiery streets of 90s gaming. From infectious soundtracks and buttery-smooth controls to hilariously fun boss battles and sibling rivalries, this episode is a hilarious celebration of the pixelated nostalgia that made Streets of Rage Two a beloved classic.
Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.
Episode Transcription
Let me tell you of the epic tale of Streets of Rage 2, a game that not only rocked the gaming world back in the 90s, but continues to tantalizingly tickle our nostalgia bones today. It's a story of sibling rivalries, pixelated brawls, breaking barrels, and a street so enraged it would make the Incredible Hulk pee his pants.
So sit back, grab some snacks, and let me tell you, in a nutshell, why Streets of Rage 2 is worth your time.
Let's do this.
So, Streets of Rage 2. It was the early 90s, and if you weren't playing Sonic the Hedgehog, you were probably hanging out with the gang Axel, Blaze, Max and Skate - who sounds more like a hip-hop dance move than a character name. Let's not get bogged down with the names. Let's just talk about what made this game truly unforgettable.
First thing I've got to mention: soundtrack.
Streets of Rage 2 had a banging soundtrack that was just so infectious. You'd catch yourself humming it during meetings or in school - I was a kid back then - maybe in the middle of a budget review or a geography class, for example. And suddenly it's like you're back in those pixelated, rage filled streets, bashing thugs over the head with lead pipes and rightfully kicking them in the shins while you pick up the apples from trash cans. Gonna be honest, not the most hygienic place to find your fruit. But hey, if you're in the middle of a brawl, you take what you can get. I mean, let's face it, it's a load better than eating trash can turkeys. Looking at you, Metro City.
And speaking of brawls, gameplay was just legendary. You couldn't beat it. I mean, the controls were so smooth, it was like butter on hot toast... or hot butter on cold toast.
You walk up to a thug, bop him in the face, and then send him flying with a spinning kick. A "rent a car" (grand upper) or a "hub cheeky". Simple, easy to learn, hard to master. Soon you'd be throwing thugs into the throng of gang members, with great glee and giggles all around. It was a bit like playing a superhero. A pixelated, buff as hell, hard as nails superhero. And that's what we all wanted, you know, the simple life.
Let's not forget the story, shall we.
Full Show NotesCheck out the full show notes for some extra stuff, and some links to related things.
Reach out to us on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page.
Links of Interest

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Signing Off... For Now
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Rob from Gold Mountain Games joined us to talk about the things we're passionate about, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Schitt's Creek, and a brand new idea for RTS games. Definitely don't sleep on this episode, folks.
Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.
Content Warning
During their conversation about how society is becoming more accepting of people being passionate about their hobbies (and potentially dropping the term "geek" when referring to them), Jay brings up the following fantastically wonderful line from the TV show Schitt's Creek:
I like the wine, and not the label— David Rose, Schitt's Creek, Season 1 Episode 10: Honeymoon

The scene is, ostensibly a conversation about sexuality, and David's reluctance to label his sexuality. As such, that part of the conversation might not be safe for all ears. This part of the conversation happens at 9:47.
Please listen responsibly.
Show Notes
From active timer battling to zombie slaying, Waffling Taylors covers video games beyond.In part two of this episode, we are joined by Rob from Gold Mountain Games. We reminisce about gaming as we grew up, as well as covering everything from passions for your interests, cat assassins, and augmented barbarian fish weaponry.
So, without further ado, sit back, grab some snacks, and get ready for this episode entitled "A Catch-up with Rob, No Bards Allowed - Part One"
Enjoy.
— Squidge
As Squidge points out in the intro, this is part two of a discussion with Rob from Gold Mountain Games. Part one was released back on October 10th, 2023 - here's a link to that - we covered:

What Gold Mountain Games is
What's happened since the OGL event
And what we've been playing recently
As part one of the episode ended, Jay had just been telling everyone about a cross-platform game launcher called Lutris; and that's where this part starts.
Jay went ahead and talked about ONE of the MANY reasons why Windows games tend to (but not always) run better on a Linux-based operating system than on Windows. There are lots of caveats in that sentence because there really are many reasons why, but one of the main ones is how composable the Linux-based operating systems are: you can literally remove whatever you're not using, even if it's a core component of the operating system itself. Because of that, they tend to run faster, on both older and newer hardware, using fewer system resources.
A Wholesome Conversation Appeared
Jay talking about Lutris and different operating systems brought up a wonderfully wholesome conversation about the human condition and being who you are:
It doesn't actually matter at all, right? And I'm sure if I put the effort into learning a different system it would be absolutely fine. But I just find it really funny how people are people will get really angry about it.I like it in the pet community. Like if someone posts a picture of their cat and goes, "my cat's cute," you sure as hell I'm posting a cute picture of my cat and trying to prove that my cat's the cutest. I love the human condition.
— Rob
And Jay drops some knowledge when talking about the different operating system choices:
And when people come to me and says, "oh, but you should use Windows for this, or you should use this, that and the other," I'm like, "dude, use what works for you."— Jay
To which Rob replied:
I think with most things, people should just be able to make the choices they want to make and get on with it. And if it works for them, then it's fine, right?— Rob
At the end of the day, you should like what you like. Who cares what everyone thinks, right?
You do not want someone to like you for someone you're not, because you're going to have to pretend to be that person forever. And the longer you do that, the harder it's going to be, and the more miserable you'll be.It doesn't matter if people don't like who you are, because there are only a few people and there'll be more people who

Rob from Gold Mountain Games (who have been going from strength to strength) returned to discuss what they've been up to in the six months since the whole OGL debacle. We discuss Balder's Gate 3, Resident Evil, Bards (horny and non-horny), and Squidge's ideas for Apple stores.
Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.
Content Warning
Usually, we'll add warnings here about swears and such, but with this episode, there was some background noise on Rob's audio. Squidge (our hard-working editor, and audio engineering expert) did everything he could to isolate and remove it, but there's one part where it's a little rough: 23:16 when Rob is describing the game SCUM.
We hope the background noise doesn't take you out of the episode too much.
Show Notes
From active timer battling to zombie slaying, Waffling Taylors covers video games beyond.In part one of this episode, we are joined by Rob from Gold Mountain Games. We reminisce about gaming as we grew up, as well as covering everything from ram-raiding shop windows as pirates-for-dummies to the dangers of horny warlocks. Yeah, you'll have to wait for that one.
So, without further ado, sit back, grab some snacks, and get ready for this episode entitled "A Catch-up with Rob, No Bards Allowed - Part One"
Enjoy.
— Squidge
For this episode, Rob from Gold Mountain Games made his second-ever appearance on the show and wanted to talk about all things video games. You might remember him from his previous appearance where both he and his business partner Tim discussed the (then) impending changes to the Dungeons & Dragons license agreement (the Open Game License of OGL) - here's a link to that episode.
But before any of that, it was important to have Rob talk about Gold Mountain Games in his own words:
So, Gold Mountain Games: we are a small tabletop RPG production studio. And one of the things that's changed since last time we spoke is that we are now a tabletop production company rather than a [D&D] fifth edition production company, which is quite... I think that lots of people have done that because of what happened.But yeah, so we have our own setting, as you've mentioned, the Salt Reach Isles. We've had a successful Kickstarter for a Zine... And that focuses on one of the cities that we've written. It's got some species in it, it's got some monsters, some spells, and we are currently editing the second magazine for that. So that's going to be coming to Kickstarter in a couple of months.
We've got some streams being recorded, so we've got one in our setting. We're about to start Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, partly because Baldur's Gate 3 is coming out, which is very exciting. I'm desperately stopping myself starting another playthrough before they release it fully. And that's also interesting because we've got two complete noobs playing it. So they know nothing about D&D at all.
...
And then the other thing we've got going on at the moment, which I'm really excited about, is Dark Legacies is an amazing franchise written by Chris McCauley and Claudia Christian from Babylon 5 fame. And they've got two comics out of four out so far. There's going to be a miniatures game, there's going to be, apparently an animated TV series. There's a card game.
And we've just signed a contract with them to publish their RPG, which is like Dark Legacy's Corporation Wars, it's called. I actually got some of the content yesterday and had a read through it and it's really good. It's a mixture of that kind of the Cyberpunk that you know and love with a bit of that really Dark Judge Dredd style in it. It's got bits of the Expanse in there as well. It's really interesting and I'm really excited that we're going to be publishing that... We'll be publishing the main book and then we'll also be creating more content for it. We're going to have a live stream of it as well. There's a lot of exciting stuff coming out of it.
— Rob
So if you'

Join Squidge and his very special guest Matt Bliss, as they take listeners on a hilarious journey through the whimsical world of Hades. Bliss and Squidge delve into the seamless integration of gameplay and story, the chaotic and cuddly possibilities within the game, and even take a comical detour into the complexities of Christopher Nolan's films. From imagining plush toy versions of fearsome enemies to remixing Cardi B's 'WAP' into the game's soundtrack, this episode is a delightful blend of humour, insights, and sheer entertainment.
Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.
Spoiler Warning
Matt discusses some of the plot points in Hades, including dropping a pretty major spoiler. If you don't want to have the story spoiled, please skip the section between 15:49 and 17:23.
Show NotesBecause he started us off last time (and even though he was the guest for this one), Squidge introduced the episode and the idea behind it:
Waffling Taylor's Lite: the pocket size podcast that packs a gaming punch.In this serving of bite sized banter with a side of gaming goodness, we catch up with Matthew Bliss, creator of podcasts From My Home to Yours and Dead Drop Game News about Hades.
Take it away, guys
— Squidge
The WT Lite series of episodes will be peppered in alongside the "standard" episodes, so keep an eye out for them. These episodes allow us to focus specifically on a specific game or series, and really focus on our guest's thoughts. And whilst this episode was about the hack-and-slash sleeper hit that was Hades, Squidge wanted Matt to introduce himself to everyone - even though he'd been on three episodes prior to this one
I am Matthew Bliss. I have featured on a couple of episodes for the the the Waffling Taylors podcast....But yeah, I'm delighted to be back on again in this nice little Lite edition. Hopefully I can be as much of a joy in your ear holes as Squidge is normally.
And yeah, this whole podcasting gig, it's something I've been doing for a couple of years myself. As Squid struggles to retain his liquids, he's just imbibed. I've had a few podcast on the go. My current project is one with my wife actually having just moved from Australia to Ireland. We've done a podcast about the move called From My Home to Yours and we share our emotions and experiences and all that kind of stuff. I've also had the one that brought me onto the Waffling Taylors I think was the Dead Drop podcast or Dead Drop Game News, which has been on hiatus for an unanticipated long time, though as you can imagine, me being away or trying to move to Ireland for as long as I have it has had to take a backseat. But I'm looking to bring it back.
So make sure that if you want to follow along with me and if you like what you hear in this episode, then yeah, from My Home to Yours or Dead Drop Game News.
— Matt
How Long Did It Take You To Reach The Surface And Beat Hades For The First Time?
Even though Squidge hadn't played Hades, he'd done some research into it before recording this episode with Matt; and it turns out that it has an insanely long "completionist" time of 81 hours - Jay: when compiling the show notes, I noticed that number had jumped to 95.5 hours - So the first thing that Squidge wanted to know was whether Matt had ever actually finished this game. To be honest, that completionlist time makes it look like more of a full-time job than a hobby.
Look, it's really hard to know.As you said, Hades is one of those games that you just have to try and you get addicted to. You absolutely do. But you do have to take a bit of time to master it. So the first time round, and it was many years since I played it, it was a game that went into early access first, and I think I got it just before the early access window finished and it went into version one. So I've been playing it for a while. I think it probably took me like 20 hours to surface just because it is such a it's hard to descr

A Wild Trailer Appears
Here are five and a half minutes of zero-context conversation from our most recent episode (Resident Evil 3 Anniversary - Traffic Jam Burrito).
Squidge teamed up with our special guest host Nomad to ask Jay why he only ever played 10 minutes of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. They also tried to convince him to play the game, but did their interrogation succeed? And just what is a Traffic Jam Burrito? And how is it that this game came out 24 years ago? Seriously?!
There's only one way to find out: listen to the show. DO EEET NAAOOOOW!
Links

Show notes with an embedded player: https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/2023/09/29/resident-evil-3-anniversary-traffic-jam-burrito/

Retro Wildlands: https://retrowildlandspodcast.podbean.com/

The first three Resident Evil games, as covered on Retro Wildlands:
#1 Resident Evil
#9 Resident Evil 2
#22 Resident Evil 3


Join our Discord server to be part of future episodes: https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/discord

Jay plays Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Part 1
Part 2




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