150 episodes

A very silly self-guided tour through the history of videogames, from Advance Wars to Zork. Except chronologically. So it would be the other way around.

Join Nate, Sebastian, and Ryan as they play a new game every other week and attempt to distill that game's essence.

Go Back and Play Go Back and Play

    • Leisure
    • 5.0 • 14 Ratings

A very silly self-guided tour through the history of videogames, from Advance Wars to Zork. Except chronologically. So it would be the other way around.

Join Nate, Sebastian, and Ryan as they play a new game every other week and attempt to distill that game's essence.

    Episode 150 - Finale and Retrospective

    Episode 150 - Finale and Retrospective

    The end has come!
    Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, David, and Ryan all convene to discuss the games that surprised them on their seven-year podcast journey, the games from our chronology that they MOST recommend everyone try, and some games which we didn't touch on but which we couldn't finish out our tour without at least mentioning. Along the way, we're joined by several previous guests and friends of the show who have recommendations of their own -- come join us for one last chat about games and what we like about them.

    • 2 hr 48 min
    Episode 149 - Hades

    Episode 149 - Hades

    Nate, Ryan, Jordan, and David gather for the last game on our whirlwind tour of game history -- Supergiant Games' 2020 rogue-like HADES, about a young god just tryin' to get out from his father's shadow. We discuss synergy, sexy deities, incredible jams, and the magic trick of a persistent narrative doled out in pieces in a run-based structure. Nate gushes about Supergiant's other games, David turns up the heat, and Jordan gets in good with Sisyphus's good friend Bouldy.

    • 1 hr 26 min
    Episode 148 - Kentucky Route Zero

    Episode 148 - Kentucky Route Zero

    Nate, Sebastian, Ryan, and Jordan gather to discuss KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO, Cardboard Computer's surreal trip through an America haunted by debt, loss, regret, and hope. The first episode released in 2013, but our timeline places it at the journey's conclusion, which only emerged in 2020. We talk theater, symmetry, literature, and whether it's worth it to try and make art in a world which seems to be precipitously falling apart -- and, indeed, whether it's possible to do anything else. Ryan wants to know how we feel about horses, Sebastian encounters a burger too big for him to eat, and Nate maps out a phone tree. 

    • 1 hr 19 min
    Episode 147 - Disco Elysium

    Episode 147 - Disco Elysium

    Nate, Sebastian, Ryan, Jordan, and David all convene to discuss DISCO ELYSIUM, ZA/UM's 2019 surreal detective adventure. We talk about evocative prose, political vision quests, and what kinds of cops we would be, if we were forced against our will to be cops. Nate fantasizes about being bench-pressed by China Mieville, Sebastian brings a cavalry saber to a gun fight, Jordan fails to make time for a crucial nap, and Ryan tells us all about "the only Kim K who matters."

    • 1 hr 52 min
    Episode 146 - Outer Wilds

    Episode 146 - Outer Wilds

    Nate, Sebastian, Jordan and Ryan all gather to discuss OUTER WILDS, Mobius Digital's triumphant space exploration game from 2019. We discuss escape rooms, campfires, and dying in the cold vacuum of space. Sebastian mishears Jordan's latest game investigations, Ryan is scared of Giant's Deep, and Nate watches Predator 2. 

    • 1 hr 28 min
    Episode 145 - Pathologic 2

    Episode 145 - Pathologic 2

    Nate, Sebastian, Jordan, and Brock gather to discuss PATHOLOGIC 2, the "open-world horror RPG" developed by Ice-Pick Lodge and released in 2019. We discuss brutality both thematic and mechanical, folk horror, and starving to death on the steppe. Nate becomes an evangelist for a game he wasn't sure he'd like, Brock gets to know his co-workers in the most awkward way, and Sebastian is stymied by the unforgiving hands of time. 

    • 1 hr 40 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
14 Ratings

14 Ratings

LillianJane ,

Funny and Smart

I love listening to Go Back and Play. In addition to the playful banter, the hosts are fun to listen to. Descriptions of the content and the analysis of the games are really interesting. I love learning the history of how the game influenced society at the time and where it fits in the greater history of video games. I remember playing a game with Quick Time Events (QTEs). It made me dislike video games. Now, I know that I’m not the only one that hated QTEs. Wish I had more games to play as a kid.

Pros:
Funny hosts
Historical contexts of games
Great descriptions of game content
Analysis of game influence
Smart discussion
Host Backstories Given
Wide range of games covered
Spoiler alerts given

Cons:
Every episode ends
Hard to tell who’s talking sometimes by voice alone
Inconsistent hosts (Ryan’s not always on the podcast)
Explicit content

Ripboins ,

The best podcast ever

I Love this podcast - this is all I want to do - listen about all of the games that made me the 35 year old man I am today. Keep up the good work! Please do saga Frontier and vandal hearts!!

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