Episode 26 - Blair Witchin' It - Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour and P.T.

NOTE: For an unknown reason, a popping noise was picked up on our recording for the first half of this podcast. This begins around 14 minutes, and ends during the second half. If this proves incredibly annoying to you, skip to 57:10 for our discussion on P.T. and the end of that sound. Apologies for the terribleness.

The only me is me. Are you sure the only pod is cast?,

Welcome to our first episode for the month of October. Being the spookiest month of the year, (got my eyes on you, June) we have chosen to take a look at the recent demo for Resident Evil 7 and pretty much the scariest thing on the planet, P.T. These games have a lot in common, but looking at them in direct comparison gives a lot of insight on the design of horror games and how good P.T. is at what it sets out to do. We're going to be talking about agency (or the lack thereof), use of limited space in design, and the proper identification of bird flesh and meat bags. 

Thanks so much for listening and come back in two weeks as we talk about Resident Evil 4!

Episode 26 - Blair Witchin' It - Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour and P.T.
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One Year of NOCLIP - Central Cooling Core

Thank you for listening to NOCLIP!

A year ago we released the first episode of this podcast, and while it hasn't resulted in a whole lot, we have definitely gained some momentum. We love doing this and we appreciate everyone who listens. So, in honor of this slightly less-than-momentous occasion, we present you with half an hour of some of our dumbest jokes and silliest tangents that didn't make it into actual episodes. Learn to make iced coffee, take a few lances to the chest, and answer the age-old question "Do you want some Doritos?" 

Thanks for a fun first year and be ready to crap yourself in fright next week, guaranteed, when we talk about Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour and P.T.!

One Year of NOCLIP - Central Cooling Core
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Episode 25 - Pleasantly Disappointed - Fire Emblem

Together We Cast!,

Today, we're going to be talking about the first entry in a long running series to come to the U.S. only in its seventh installment, Fire Emblem. This game has become Intelligent Systems' flagship series, and it focuses on turn based, tabletop RPG-like combat and heavy character development. We're going to discuss strategy, characters and dialogue, and the seeming inefficacy of poison in the middle ages.

Thanks for joining us for NOCLIP (and for JJ's month of picks!) this week. Two weeks from now we're starting October (and what is more or less Chad's month of picks) with Horror Demos. Specifically, we're going to be looking at Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour and P.T., Silent Hills' teaser. Spooooky!

Episode 25 - Pleasantly Disappointed - Fire Emblem
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Episode 24 - No Hat, Not Young, Third Guy - Catherine

Fucking Pods, I'm Gonna Cast the Shit Out of You,

On today's episode we're going to be talking about Atlus's block pushing, trust shattering, heavy drinking puzzle game Catherine. The off-the-wall aesthetic, odd subject matter and brutal difficulty make this game a hell of a thing to behold and it rests comfortably in the "only thing like it" category. We discuss puzzle mechanics, visual craziness and Chad being an absolute baby.

As always, thank you for listening, and be sure to check back in next time when we look at the Game Boy Advance game Fire Emblem, the first in the series to be released outside of Japan.

Episode 24 - No Hat, Not Young, Third Guy - Catherine
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Episode 23 - Poofy, Fluffy, Easily Thrown - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

Loud and... Very Loud,

Today we're going to be joined by our friend Faun and talking about one in the PlayStation 2's stable of mascot platformers, Sucker Punch's Sly Cooper. The first game in what would become a well received series, we debate what relevance Sly has in the current day and try to determine what made it popular in the first place. We discuss platforming, minigames, and how one contextual button press can turn us all into the super spy of our dreams.

Thanks as always for listening, and check us out again in two weeks when we begin JJ-September with Atlus's Catherine!

Episode 23 - Poofy, Fluffy, Easily Thrown - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
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Episode 22 - There's Game in Them There Hills - Hyper Light Drifter

In the Technological Dystopian Future, Only Podcasts Remain,

This week we talk about Heart Machine's fast-paced action game Hyper Light Drifter. This game is tough and beautifully animated, and we draw comparisons to a number of classic games that got everything mostly right, but some of the finer details leave us wishing the game could have been slightly more than maybe it was capable of. We talk about dodging, bosses, beauty in pixel art, and prospecting for game consoles in the mountains of Appalachia.

Thanks for joining us this week, be sure to check back two weeks from now when we are joined by our friend Faun to discuss the PS2 platform classic Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.

Episode 22 - There's Game in Them There Hills - Hyper Light Drifter
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Episode 21 - Serious Sam or Serious Issues - The Talos Principle

It is a Podcast, My Child,

Thanks for joining us this week as we talk about The Talos Principle. This Croteam designed game puts us in the first person perspective of an AI solving puzzles in a simulation. While that probably seems pretty well within the realm of games, what Talos Principle prides itself on is its incorporation of philosophy into its themes and story. The game wants to make you think, but how well does it accomplish this? We talk about narrative pacing, puzzle design, and potentially motion sickness-inducing speed.

Thanks for listening and be sure to join us in two weeks when we talk about Hyperlight Drifter!

Episode 21 - Serious Sam or Serious Issues - The Talos Principle
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Episode 20 - Wizard in a Hawaiian Shirt - Super Mario Sunshine

I judge this podcast guilty as charged,

Welcome back to the podcast, everyone! We're celebrating twenty episodes by talking about our first Mario game ever, and what better entry to talk about during the hot summer months than Mario Sunshine, the plumber's vacation away from abstract platforms to contrived, realistic platforms. We're going to be talking about design consistency, voice acting, and Strollin' Stus, even though we didn't know their name until now.

Thanks for joining these Podcastin' Stus today and come back in two weeks when we talk about The Talos Principle!

Episode 20 - Wizard in a Hawaiian Shirt - Super Mario Sunshine
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Episode 404 - Sorry! - Scholars of the First Impressions

Sorry!

We won't be uploading an episode today, but we do have a YouTube video to share! (https://youtu.be/F3AI8U6f-ic) We will be recording the Mario Sunshine episode still and putting it up next Saturday, so apologies for the delay, but we should be back on schedule next week.

As per usual, thank you for listening and we'll see you next week!

Episode 404 - Sorry! - Scholars of the First Impressions
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Episode 19 - Aggressive Latin Ambience - Doom

The road to hell is paved with the NOCLIP Podcast,

Thank you for joining us today as we run, gun, punch, rip, tear, smash and chainsaw our way through Hell in the Bathesda published remake of Doom. For being the game that ushered in the relevance of the First Person Shooter genre, the 2016 take had some large shoes to fill. Wisely, they decided to refine what the genre had become since Doom's release rather than try and mimic what the first game did, and what we end up with is an extremely fast paced arena shooter that looks and feels like what we all thought Doom was in the '90s. We talk about violence, viscera, and vivisecting vehement villains. (I promise the alliteration isn't going to become "a thing.")

Thank you for listening and come back in two weeks for our twentieth episode on Super Mario Sunshine!

Episode 19 - Agressive Latin Ambience - Doom
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Episode 18 - Feel the Tickler - Chrono Trigger

Don't waste your time. Alfador only likes podcasts,

Today we shake off the shackles of time's slow march and talk about Chrono Trigger, an SNES RPG that used active combat and time travel to mark its place in history as one of the most beloved games of its time. The legacy of this game is well established, but we dive in to figure out what makes it tick and why it is held in such high esteem. We discuss RPG combat, characters and their inherent tropes, and one very, very buff arm.

Thanks for listening to us, and be sure to join us in two weeks when we talk about 2016's Doom!

Episode 18 - Feel the Tickler - Chrono Trigger
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Episode 17 - The Great Elijah Wood Debate - Broken Age

Welcome to Mog Chothra's chosen podcast,

On this episode we're going to be discussing Broken Age, a point and click adventure game that was funded by a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign. This game's notoriety comes from a combination of its Kickstarter and the fact that it was an adventure game with very traditional adventure game mechanics released so long after their heyday by one of the genre's most prolific creators. We're going to be talking about adventure game mechanics, this game's storytelling, and how much of the budget was probably spent just on Elijah Wood.

Thanks as always for listening, and come back in two weeks as we discuss Chrono Trigger!

Episode 17 - The Great Elijah Wood Debate - Broken Age
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Episode 16 - Things Like Shannon - Journey

A bad joke, I know, but we're talking about Journey today! This very simplistic game banks on its beautiful visuals and emotional presentation to keep players interested. And based on how well it did on the marketplace, I'd say it succeeded. We're going to be discussing meaningful multiplayer, minimalist mechanics, and matronly meanderings.

Thanks as always for listening, and check back with us next time when we talk about Broken Age!

Episode 16 - Things Like Shannon - Journey
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Episode 15 - Dunk Souls - Dark Souls (Part 2)

Forgive me, I was absorbed in thought,

Today we finish our examination of Dark Souls, hopefully ending a months long podcast theme of comparing every game we play to it. We'll be discussing bosses, plot and storytelling in the Souls series, and ideas for reality shows with Dark Souls as the central motivating factor.

Thank you for listening, and join us again next week as we shake off the grimness present in Dark Souls and play ThatGameCompany's Journey!

Episode 15 - Dunk Souls - Dark Souls (Part 2)
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Episode 15 - Skelly B. Johnson - Dark Souls (Part 1)

My pods… They’re casting. It’s dark. So dark,

Covering this game was a challenge. Not just in the sense that the game is a challenge, which rest assured, it is, but because it’s so divisive, so finely crafted and so highly revered that discussing even the smallest details of this game proved to be a lengthy experience. But in the spirit of the game, we persevered, podcasted against a brick wall for a long time and produced two full episodes worth of content and a lot of butt sweat which assuredly soaked into Andy’s couch. We talk about difficulty, area traversal, and the dark, seedy underbelly of Googling your way through the game.

Thanks for listening and join us again next week when we tackle combat mechanics, bosses and more in our second part of Dark Souls. Until then, don’t get yourself killed. Neither of us wants to see you go hollow.

Episode 15 - Skelly B. Johnson - Dark Souls (Part 1)
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Bonus Episode - The Sky Mammoth

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Gather round children, and I’ll tell you a tale,

Thanks for joining us on our week off this time. I cut so much content from the Skyrim episode that I was able to stitch together this brief anthology of stories detailing our time spent in Tamriel. The intro says it all, so I hope you enjoy our bardic performance.

While you’re listening, don’t forget to reinforce your Estus flasks because next week is part one of Dark Souls!

Bonus Episode - The Sky Mammoth
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Episode 14 - Horse Parachute - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

At long last, the Dovahcast has arrived,

Strap on your mountain climbing shoes and tell your housecarl you’re not to be bothered, because today we’re talking about Skyrim, Bethesda’s massive (single player) RPG that has consumed millions of man hours and has become a pillar of open world game design. We talk about compulsion, rewards, emergent gameplay, and level 100 blast wizards.

As this is Skyrim, we ended up recording a lot of us just telling stories about our experiences. To prevent this podcast from being far, far too long, we have separated these out, so check us out next week for our Skyrim Story Time episode!

As always, thanks for listening, and be sure to come back next time for our talk on From Software’s Dark Souls!

Episode 14 - Horse Parachute - Skyrim
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Episode 13 - Punk Rock and Pentagrams - Gone Home

I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to describe this podcast in person,

This week on NOCLIP we’re talking about the walking simulator that simulated walking all over a bunch of sour GamerGate dudes’ nuts. This game was very popular for what it was, not least due to the fact it succeeds so completely on its admittedly narrow goals. We’re going to discuss how this game chooses to tell a story, what decisions lead the player to become immersed in the game’s world (and which do not), and bringing the disembodied soul of an old dead punk rocker back from the grave to walk among the living once more.

Thanks for listening (as always!), and join us again in two weeks when we discuss the ever-expansive Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim!

13 - Punk Rock and Pentagrams - Gone Home
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Episode 12 - Melty Joes - Bioshock

No pods. No casts. Only men.

This week on NOCLIP we’re going to be talking about Bioshock, a first person shooter with an agenda. One of the earliest games of the seventh generation of consoles, it took its themes and aesthetics seriously and has largely become a classic because of it. We talk about the game’s setting, the combat, and the story and how the game does so much that it sometimes fails to deliver.

As always, thanks for listening and join us again in two weeks when we play Gone Home!

Episode 12 - Melty Joes - Bioshock
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