Digitally Uploaded

The roguelike is a hot topic again, thanks to the "AAA"-roguelike, Returnal, exclusive to PlayStation 5. We chat about that this month on the podcast. We also have a good chat about photography in games, thanks to New Pokemon Snap bringing out the wildlife photographer in us... and then we chat about a favourite genre, the simulation, and some of the implications of the newer era takes on that genre. Finally, of course we have a good look at all the games coming out in May, and what you should be looking forward to. Thanks as always for tuning in!

This month's podcast is a massive one, as we had a lot to talk about. We kick things off with the games of the month, of course (and there's a lot to look forward to in April!). Then we chat about NieR, the masterpiece that it is, before also talking about our love of mystery games AND party games. Thanks as always for tuning in - let us know what you think about this episode, and we'll see you at the next one!

Have we got a massive podcast to share with you this month! Not only do we talk about the games of March (of which there are A LOT coming), but we also go in-depth into retro-themed JRPGs, arcade games and arcade compilations. And then we have an in-depth interview with one of Australia's leading journeyman freelance narrative writers, Lee, about the local industry and some of the wonderful games that he's worked on. It's a packed two hours to look forward to, so load it up and enjoy! Thanks as always for tuning in!

Time sure flies when you're having fun! We're already into the second month of 2021, and we've been having a lot of fun with the games we've been playing. This month on the podcast we look at the packed February lineup, discuss why games need to be orientated more towards narrative, consider the ongoing role of the platformer, and debate what qualities make a game worth returning to once it becomes "retro". Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll catch you next month!

Welcome to the New Year, everyone! Let's hope that this year is a better one for everyone. We are back with our monthly podcasts this year, where we'll look at all the games coming up in the month, as well as discussing various other topics... and hopefully have a guest or two along the way as well! This month's a pretty casual one. We chat about what we're looking forward to in the year, and some of the highlights of last year. We also chat about the games that have defined the last generation, as this will be the first full year of the "new-gen" with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Be sure to shout out over the year if there are any topics you'd like to see us cover. Otherwise, we look forward to having you tune in each month over the year!

Welcome to our final podcast of the year! This week we have special guest, Sanatana Mishra who has worked on, among other things, the excellent Assault Android Cactus and a range of remakes, including the Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse remake from a few years ago that was so, so good. We talk with Sanatana about remakes, remasters, and what works and doesn't. We also talk about the new toy on the block - the PlayStation 5 - and all the fun we've been having with that, and then we talk about history games, and how Assassin's Creed is right back on top thanks to Valhalla. Finally, we talk about all the good games coming out in December... there are more of them than you think. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy the cast! Say hi and share your thoughts, and we'll be back right at the end of the year for the January episode!

The next generation of consoles will be on us in just weeks, and this time around it's a little different. With COVID-19 disrupting manufacturing and shipping, a lot of people are going to miss the first wave of this generation, so this week on the podcast we talk about the almighty fear of missing out, or FOMO. We also delve into all the games you'll be playing in November (though we do mention Cyberpunk 2077, which has just been pushed into December now), and we talk about Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, one of the real gems and delights to emerge from 2020. Finally, we are joined by special guest, Lachlan, to discuss his newly-released, and super-fanservicey Max's Bigger Bust - the sequel to Max's Big Bust, and one of the few games that combines anime art style and Australianisms. It's a hilarious game, we promise. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next month!

We have a special guest on the podcast this week! Tina from Cotton Candy Cyanide, an Australian developer that has just released her first game under the brand - Quantum Suicide. It's a very, very good game, full of Danganronpa-style drama and with a healthy dose of fan service, so this week we chat with her about the game, its development, and what players should look forward to from it. We also go through the games that will release through October (there is a lot of them), and talk about both Tokyo Game Show for 2020, and classic games - which classic games hold up, which do not, and why. This topic was inspired by Mario 64's recent re-release on to Nintendo Switch, and there is some heated debate across the DDNet team as to its value as a game in 2020. It's a big podcast, so kick back, relax, and enjoy! We'll be back next month with the next one!

Hello everyone and welcome to this month's podcast! As always we kick things off with a look into the games that we can expect to play next month - it's going to be a big one. Then we transition to talking about our topics for the month. We discuss the role of literature in video games (and wonder why certain books haven't been "gamified" yet). We also discuss the role that music has in building narrative within games. Then we talk about Fall Guys. Because everyone has to talk about Fall Guys right now. Thanks as always for tuning in, drop us a note to say hi, and we'll see you at next month's podcast!

We have a special guest on the podcast this week! Philip J Reed, the author of an upcoming book on Resident Evil that is being published by Boss Fight Books jumps on the podcast to chat with us about his book, Resident Evil and his history with the series, and horror in video games. We also chat about our JRPGs this week, and specifically look to dig into what makes a good JRPG. Then we discuss some of our favourite soundtracks to listen to outside of video games (i.e. the soundtrack stands up by itself). And, as always, we give you a full list of all the games to look forward to in the month ahead. August... could be a busy one, especially if you enjoy Japanese games. Thanks as always for tuning in!

Welcome to the July Digitally Uploaded podcast! We've got a lot of exciting things to talk about this episode. We start by running through all the big releases in July (it's a big, big month). Then we chat about the educational value of games in light of This War Of Mine being added to Polish curriculum. Finally, we settle into this debate around AAA vs art, and look at the way that just about every big blockbuster game is chalked up as great art. We discuss why this is not only unnecessary, but harmful to video games as a medium. Thanks as always for tuning in - let us know what you think of the episode - and we look forward to seeing you next month!

This month on the DDNet podcast, we look back at the SNES as a console - what a machine it was, and discuss some of the lesser-known hits that you may never have heard about before. We also talk about games that are either designed poorly (but have magnificent ideas), or are deliberately designed to be "bad" in order to convey a point. They're always controversial in terms of how people respond to them, but if you love one of those games you tend to really, REALLY, love it. And of course we talk about all the major releases coming in June. It's traditionally a quiet month, but there's still plenty to look forward to. Thank you as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next month!

Yes, the Digitally Uploaded podcast is back! We were away on hiatus for a while, as we sorted through various changes in the podcast team's lives, but we're back, and with a fresh new look at the podcast. We're moving to a monthly schedule, for a start. This will allow us to go deeper with the stuff that we look at in each podcast, and make each one longer, too! This month, for example, we chat about Final Fantasy, games from isolation, itch.io as a platform for games, and all the stuff you'll be playing in May. It's good to be back, and we hope you enjoy this new approach we're taking. As always, if there are any particular topics you'd like to canvas, just let us know!

Ahoy peeps! It has been a few weeks since the last podcast. The good news is that the podcast editor, Alan, has completed a move overseas safely and now we're back on track. This will be the last podcast for the year, but we will be back in force come 2020! In this week's podcast, we mostly chat about the highlights of the year that was, what we're looking forward to in the new year (it's already shaping up as a good one!), and all that good stuff. Thanks for tuning in to the 30 or so podcasts we published this year. It's been wild, and we can't wait to see you all bright and early in the new decade! Have a safe and joyful holidays and thank you for your support!

First of all, a correction - we mention that we have used a MEIKO song in the podcast, but in editing we dropped the wrong one in - what you'll hear for the customary voicaloid track is actually Kagamine Rin. Sorry about any confusion there! What's not confusing is the nonsense that is Blizzard. Announcing Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 ain't going to make us forget that Hong Kong stuff, mates. This week we also just catch up on the random stuff that we've been playing when not focused on stuff like Death Stranding for review. There's just been so much going on, it has been hard to keep up. Thanks as always for tuning in! We may or may not need to take a couple of weeks off now (Alan is relocating to the UK and he's the manager of the podcast), but we'll be back as soon as we can be!

Ahhh Halloween. That special time of year where it's fun to be spooked. As is traditional for us, we take a look at some of the themed games you should be playing this year. As it's also the last week of the month, we also talk about all the games you'll be playing in November... and there are a *lot* of them. It's not quite as bad as October, but still the releases come on thick and fast. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you at the next one!

We've got a bit of a themed episode going this week! It's all about the retro! From watching let's plays of difficult to find games, to the decline of arcades (even in Japan - sniff), and a new, gorgeous console that will play your Game Boy games, retro gaming is still a big part of our lives, and every so often we like to check in and get old-school. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we look forward to seeing you next week!

There have been a lot of great remasters over the past few years... but there have also been some horrible or misguided ones. What's the difference, and what should a remaster do? We chat about that this week. We also muse over Nintendo's next fitness game, which gives you a rubber ring and a world of possibilities. Finally, we talk about some of the strangest games that we've had the joy of playing over the years. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we will see you next week!

It's been a really, really good couple of weeks. Not only was the Untitled Goose Game released, to become an instant revelation and something that every person with any taste whould play, but Apple Arcade launched and breathed some much-needed life back into mobile gaming. We also have a good old chat about all the games releasing in October... and there are a lot of those. A lot. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you all next week!

This podcast was recorded two weeks ago, ahead of Matt heading off to Japan for TGS, but we've picked some pretty timeless topics that will never die for your listening pleasure. Game reviews: should they be objective (why this one won't just die is beyond us)? Also Pokemon! And Matt chats about some of the interviews that he organised at TGS. You'll be able to read those in the coming weeks as they go up at http://www.digitallydownloaded.net Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

Nintendo held a direct last week, and it impressed us that much that we decided to talk exclusively about it in the podcast this week. From Deadly Premonition to SNES classics on the Switch, the 40-minute show demonstrated how the Switch is going from strength to strength... and it is amazing to watch. So this week we talk about the highlights from the show (there were many), what we'd still like to see from Nintendo (yes, there are areas for improvement), and we rave about how good Deadly Premonition really is. Thanks as always for tuning in! See you next week!

With the HD remaster of Final Fantasy VIII released this week, the DDNet team took the opportunity to look back at all the Final Fantasy (numbered) series, and talk about the good, the bad, and the way the series has evolved over time. That's right. From Final Fantasy I through to XV we talk about them all this week. We also have a look at all the games you'll be playing in September. There are a lot of those. Thanks as always for tuning in!

The big "art blockbuster" release this week is Control, from the makers of Max Payne and Alan Wake. We have a good chat about that one on this week's podcast! We also take a look at all the big announcements from Gamescom, the "replacement E3". And we chat through a recent wave of censorship that has hit Australia courtesy of a number of very high profile games getting themselves banned. Thanks as always for tuning in! Let us know of there are ever any topics you would like for us to address, and we'll get right on it!

Phew! That's been a couple of weeks. Our podcast recording platform got up and died, so we needed to find an alternative. That's why we've been away the last couple of weeks, but we're back now. So this week we talk about ACE Team's mesmerising new game, The Eternal Cylinder. We've only seen a first trailer of it so far, but we're completely sold on it. We also talk about Plague Inc, which is still kicking around after almost a decade and just released on Nintendo Switch. And we have a bit more of a laugh at the ongoing saga that is Borderlands 3. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Thank you for your patience as we worked through those tech issues!

It was a very sad week for the games industry last week, with one of the finest and most respected game developers, Defiant Development, closing up shop despite being behind the critical darlings Hand of Fate and Hand of Fate 2. We talk a bit about where Aussie game development is, and what we'd like to see for it next. We also talk about all the lovely games releasing in August this year... and of course there are a lot of them! Thanks as always for tuning in, and we look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Welcome back! We had a week's hiatus to get some other things done, but we're back this week, in style. Nintendo's had a whole lot of stuff out to talk about, Netflix tried its best to ruin Stranger Things on us all, and we have a good chat about games we've gone back to after taking a break from them. Thanks as always for tuning in, and remember, if there's ever a topic you'd like to see us cover, just let us know!

What an awesome week of news we had last week, headed by the return of Hatsune Miku to consoles! Yes! She's getting a brand new Switch experience, and we chat about that, and some of the other exciting stuff that came last week. We also catch up on all the awesome stuff that Final Fantasy XIV's new expansion is bringing us, and we list out our favourite arcade games of all time. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll catch up with you all next week!

We're now halfway through the year! Tired yet? Well, you're going to get a whole lot more tired soon, because there's a lot to play this coming month! We also have a good ol' chat about our favourite fighting games of all time (and why), and we discuss two of the biggest releases over the last week in-depth: Judgement and Bloodstained. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll catch you next week!

Don't worry. We don't actually talk about Tifa's boobs, or the ridiculous controversy surrounding them. Much. We have a great podcast for you this week! There's so many horror games releasing at the moment, so we talk about that, and then we also chat about My Friend Pedro and the old bugbear it raises - the question of violence. This week we also try out a new feature, listing out our three favourite games within a specific genre. This week we're talking about sports games, but if there's any particular genre that you ever want us to chat about, let us know in the comments!

So, how good was E3 this year? Well, it was great if you were a fan of Nintendo and retro games... but was there much more to this year's show? In our post-E3 wrap and debrief, we talk about everything that excited us in the show, what we're looking forward to playing, and what the biggest highlights were. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you all next week!

We recorded this podcast just before E3 kicked off so, with the event now fully in swing, what did we expact to hear about, what are we looking forward to, and what will we be focused on? Without Sony, E3 this year is certainly going to be different! But there's still plenty to get excited about, and already so much announced, with more to come. Let us know what you're looking forward to this year, what you've enjoyed seeing, and what games are hot on your "to do" list now! Thank you as always for tuning in, and we'll see you at the next podcast where... no doubt we'll have plenty more to say about E3.

On this week's episode, we have a talk about the surprise announcement that Kojima's Death Stranging will release this year, in November. There was a new trailer for it, and Alan and Matt get into a bit of verbal fisticuffs over whether Kojima's all he's cracked up to be. We also talk about Pokemon, with four new Pokemon announcements happening last week. Is Pokemon Sleep worth getting excited for? What about a new Detective Pikachu title for Switch? There's something in there for everyone. Thanks as always for tuning in, and do let us know if there's ever anything you'd like to hear us chat about on Digitally Uploaded!

Can you believe we're already halfway into the year? Where has 2019 gone? Anyway, with June just around the corner, we chat about the (many) interesting games that will be coming out in and around E3. As this week saw the release of Team Sonic Racing, we also talk about that... and why developers seem to struggle so much to compete with Nintendo in that genre. Finally, Octopath Traveler is coming out on PC soon, so we take a look back at why that game is so wonderful. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

We've finally convinced Alan to take another swing at Final Fantasy XII, now that it's out on Nintendo Switch, and he's enjoying the heck out of it. We also have a chat about the names that game developers give games... because frankly, a lot of publishers don't do a good job there. What makes a video game title good, and why do so many developers and publishers get that wrong? Finally, we also chat about NISA's latest one, and talk about all kinds of weird stuff besides. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

Sony held a PlayStation State of Play last week, so we talk about what we saw in there, and whether Sony has its event formula nailed down properly yet (it probably doesn't). We also have a good chat about spoilers, and whether people are starting to take that too far (they probably are). Finally, in the wake of Ubisoft going out there and actively claiming that its new Tom Clancy game "isn't political," when it quite blatantly is, we have a good laugh at how sour the discource around politics in games has turned. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

The next big fighting game to land on the scene, Mortal Kombat XI, released recently, and we've been playing it pretty hard. This week we take a look at that game and, of course, its infamous violence. We also chat about the (many) games releasing in May. It's going to be a good month, so get ready to add to that backlog! Thanks as always for tuning in, and we look forward to seeing you next week!

It was a huge week for Persona news last week, so naturally that dominates the chat we had on the podcast! We also took the opportunity to chat on about Yoshi, given the recent new game and the fact we hadn't had the chance to talk about that until now. Finally, we talk about survival games. The worst genre (not really, but we do talk about some of the issues that we have with it as a whole). Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

We have a special guest this week, with Lachlan Snell, the Aussie developer behind the recent JRPG/visual novel blend, Alluna and Brie, jumping on to tell us all about his new game, from its Aussie humour to its stylish blend of Persona-style storytelling and copious fanservice. We also chat about the slivers of information that have been emerging about the PlayStation 5, and the newest Smash Bros. DLC - Joker from Persona 5! Is he good? You betya. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you at the next podcast!

It's been such a big couple of weeks for Final Fantasy, with IX, VII, X and X-2 releasing on the Nintendo Switch within weeks of one another... and FFXII just around the corner. So this week on the podcast we talk about those games. Additionally, we chat about remakes - what makes a good remake, and when should great games be left alone? Finally, we chat about baseball. Not just because MLB The Show is recently released, but Konami also has one coming, about the (better) Japanese baseball league. That's one worth looking forward to, if you don't mind the import. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

We're back! After a couple of weeks off because Matt was in Japan (hope you enjoyed the special top 20 music countdown!), we're back, and with a brand new podcast, looking at some of the biggest conversations that has been going on with video games. First up, we chat about Sekiro, which has been causing all kinds of discussions over the past few weeks since it released. It's good though. Very good. Then we chat about Borderlands and the ongoing nonsense regarding the Epic store. Apparently people don't like using it or something. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll catch you all next week!

Last week we kicked off a countdown of 20 of our favourite pieces of game music - not necessarily the best, but certainly our favourites. This week we finish that countdown! From Final Fantasy to Wild Arms, Donkey Kong to The World Ends With You, there's been so much great music made for video games, it was certainly hard to narrow it down to a celebration of 20! We hope you like what we've chosen, though, and would love to hear your own picks as well! See you next time!

Over the next two weeks, we're going to be sharing some of the DDNet team's favourite pieces of game music. These aren't necessarily the best pieces of all time (we all walked away from recording this podcast and immediately thought of another dozen tracks we could talk about), but these are all brilliant pieces of music that are critical to the quality of the games themselves. So tune in to the tunes and enjoy! We also briefly introduce why we love these pieces of music, so be sure to let us know why you like these tracks, and any others that you would have added to our little list! And be sure to tune in next week when we finish up our little list!

Last week brought the sad news that Sony was formally putting an end to the PlayStation Vita, the little handheld that could, so this week on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we reminisce about all the good times we had with that console, and the great games we played. We also have another chat about The Caligula Effect - a game we seemingly can't stop playing or thinking about. It's just that good. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

It's all about upcoming games this week on the Digitally Uploaded podcast. First we chat about A Plague Tale - a suspenseful stealth game set during the Black Death that we had a couple of hours hands-on time with. Then we chat about the next game from the studio behind the Yakuza series: Judgement is an all-new direction for the SEGA studio... or is it? We also chat a little about our first impressions of Nintendo's mobile title, Dragalia Lost, now that it's finally available in Australia and New Zealand. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you next week!

It's the end of the February, and you know what that means! We look at all the games releasing in March, and whoo boy is it going to be a busy month. We also chat about some of the favourite obscure games that we've played and loved over the years... and try and figure out what makes a free-to-play game actually worth playing. Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll be back next week with even more great stuff to chat about!

Last week Nintendo held its most impressive Nintendo Direct Web show ever, so we talk about all the awesome announcements that were made there (including Tetris!) We also have a good chat about open world games, given two very high-profile ones released this week: Metro and Far Cry. Is the open world genre perfect for every game? Why is it the most popular going around at the moment? This we discuss. Finally we chat about character mascots - why are they so popular in Japan, and why don't western developers put quite the same effort into their mascots (also Matt gets to talk about Hatsune Miku a bit, which made him very happy.

What's the "perfect" game? With something as subjective as video games, "perfection" shouldn't mean "flawless," but actually nutting down what causes us to call something "perfect" is one of the things we chat about this week on the Digitally Uploaded podcast. We also have a good chat about some of the worst games that we've ever played, and then we take a quick look at the mobile games space... which has faded, and badly, though there is still the occasional gem that lands there. Thanks as always for tuning in! Sorry about the absolutely horrible Clive Palmer song at the end of this week's podcast, but we figured that here in Australia we're being flooded by that guy's insanity every day, so we'd just spread the love a little bit.

WarGroove, the independent-developed Advance Wars "clone" is the flavour of the week this week, so we chat about that. We also discuss the state of the Nintendo eShop (it ain't great), and discuss one of the most over-used genre tropes - the roguelike. Gosh roguelikes are awesome when they're at their best, though. Thanks as always for tuning in, and see you next week!

We've got something pretty neat in the podcast this week; an interview with the lead narrative designer on Ubisoft's upcoming Far Cry New Dawn. We chat about the game's themes and how the narrative was structured. Have a listen! Also this week we look at all the interesting-looking releases that are coming in February (there's a lot), and, in light of how impressive Resident Evil 2's recent remake is, we also chat about the games we'd love to see get the remake treatment. Thanks as always for tuning in, and look forward to next week's podcast!

With the recent news that EA is dropping a large-scale open world Star Wars game, we look at how poorly the publisher has handled its Star Wars license, since gaining exclusive rights to it from Disney almost a decade ago. We also talk about the pressing need for Nintendo to expand its subscriber-only "NES Virtual Console" by adding games from the SNES (and other consoles). Finally, we chat about some of the visual novels that we've been playing. Thanks as always for tuning in, let us know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see on the podcast, and see you next week!