Post Games

This Week on Post Games:Patreon Bonus: The Rules of Persona SummerAct 1: Persona, Explained!Act 2: Where to Start (or Continue) with PersonaAct 3: Why Tribeca Film Fest Includes Video GamesShow Notes and Bonus Episodes:Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Sponsors:Incogni Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/postgamesFactor Deal: Head to Factormeals.com/postgames50off and use code postgames50off to get 50% off and free daily greens per box, with a new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).Quince Deal: Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com/POSTGAMES for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.Guests:Brendon Bigley and Stephen Hilger: co-hosts of Into the AetherLeigh Alexander: narrative designer, writer, and former games journalistCasey Baron: Senior Programmer of the Tribeca Film FestivalClosing Song: “Aria of the Soul” by The Blueshift Big Band (The Persona 30th Anniversary Jazz Album)Art & Music:Logo and Show Art: James BarehamTheme: Mark SparlingAll interviews on Post Games are edited for concision and clarity.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Week on Post Games:Act 1: Try Not to Lose 100 FollowersAct 2: How to Look Closely at Gaming’s Little DetailsPatreon Bonus: Getting Old as a Professional YouTuberShow Notes and Bonus Episodes:Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Sponsors:Incogni Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/postgamesFactor Deal: Head to Factormeals.com/postgames50off and use code postgames50off to get 50% off and free daily greens per box, with a new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).Quince Deal: Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com/POSTGAMES for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.Guests:Any Austin: Gaming YouTuberClosing Song: “He’s Out There” (Screaming Savage Blood Death)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Editor's Note: Hey Post Games listeners! It's Post Games' first anniversary. To celebrate, and to give myself some time to prep the summer episodes, I'm sharing one of the monthly Patreon-exclusive episodes. This is the history of the original The Legend of Zelda, featuring one of the series' foremost experts and historians.If you like this episode, you'll enjoy the rest of Past Games. Each month, I talk with a different expert about a game or moment celebrating an anniversary this year. Previous episodes include L.A. Noire with Tim Rogers, along with histories of Dark Souls and Animal Crossing with people who wrote the books on each.Subscribe at Patreon.com/PostGames for $5 to get all that and more.This Week on Post Games:Act 1: The Making of The Legend of ZeldaAct 2: The 30-Year Evolution of Zelda GamesAct 3: A History of the Zelda Fan CommunityShow Notes and Bonus Episodes:Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Sponsors:Incogni Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/postgamesFactor Deal: Head to Factormeals.com/postgames50off and use code postgames50off to get 50% off and free daily greens per box, with a new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).Quince Deal: Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com/POSTGAMES for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.Guests:Max Nichols: Game designer, educator, and operator of Hyrule InterviewsClosing Song: “Boléro” Maurice Ravel. Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Parism. Conducted by Manuel RosenthalArt & Music:Logo and Show Art: James BarehamTheme: Mark SparlingAll interviews on Post Games are edited for concision and clarity.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5This week on Post Games:Act 1: A Career Built on “A Cry for Help”Act 2: “This Is a Fuck You”Patreon Bonus: Tidepools, Pinball, and a Musical: The “Sunny Side” of Edmund McMillenGuests:Edmund McMillen: Co-creator of MewgenicsClosing Song: “Fleas and Parasites” by Matthias Bossi and John Evans (Mewgenics)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5This week on Post Games:Act 1: Dragon Quest’s Many False Starts in AmericaAct 2: How Dragon Quest Became InescapablePatreon Bonus: Tim Rogers on How to Savor a Dragon Quest GameAct 3: The News of the WeekGuests: Andrew Webster, The Verge & Tim Rogers, Action ButtonClosing Song: “Haven” by Nicolas Gueguen (MIO: Memories in Orbit)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5This week on Post Games:Act 1: Turning Your Life into a GameAct 2: Recreating a Place and a MomentPatreon Bonus: The History of Memoir Games in 5 TitlesAct 3: News of the WeekGuest: Meredith Gran, creator of Perfect Tides: Station to StationClosing Music: Perfect Tides: Station to StationUpcoming Mini-Episode: An extra special bonus for Patreon subscribers. On the launch day of Station to Station, January 22nd, I’ll release an additional mini-episode in which Meredith and I talk about the game’s themes, twists, and ending. It was incredible to chat with a game creator without the fear of spoilers, to actually dig deep into the work and their intentions. You’ll love it!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Guest: Ash Parrish, reporter and critic at The VergeAct 1: The IndustryAct 2: The Games and TrendsPatreon Bonus: The Best and Worst Case Scenarios for 2026Act 3: The News of the Week2026 has only just begun, but already I’m certain it’ll be (at least for gaming culture) historic.Yes, it’s the year of GTA 6. It’s also the year of no fewer than ten thousand other games. Barring a cataclysmic event, more games will be released in 2026 than in any year prior.This avalanche of competition will continue to be bad news for game makers, who must not only will they battle for attention with their contemporaries, but also the tens of thousands of “new” and now steeply discounted games released since the pandemic, the free-to-play time drains, and the entirety of retro gaming playable on ever cheaper handheld emulators.Inversely, in 2026, this abundance will be a boon for most of you listening, at least in the short term. Where the glut of games that nearly killed the game industry in the 1980s was garbage, we are not wonting for high quality games serving nearly every imaginable niche.Before 2025 ended, I had already played a dozen or so solid games that will be released in 2026. And two 2026 games would have made my 2025 Game of the Year list had they been released.Add in some acquisitions, some closures, an uptick in unionization, a delinquent government oversight, and a nauseating economy, and you will be overwhelmed with existential questions about the medium.Will video game players return to buying new games after years of gorging on forever games? Will Take Two and Grand Theft Auto deal the final blow to the once-powerful video game publishers? Will developers find new ways to get their games to their intended audience, or will more and more great games be commercial failures, leading some of the great game makers of our time to change careers?The answers to those questions could alter the lives and fortunes of tens of thousands of game makers. And could influence what you do and don’t make time to play.We’ll untangle those knots in today’s episode. Our guest is The Verge’s Ash Parrish, who has a uniquely broad and deep understanding of modern gaming, both in the industry as a reporter and the games as a critic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Want full show notes? Visit www.post.gamesThis week on Post Games: the final listener mailbag of 2025!Act 1: Questions about video gamesAct 2: Questions about the industry and the culturePatreon bonus: Questions about the nitty-gritty of gamingAct 3: The news of the weekThis week, I emptied the Post Games mailbag and tried to answer as many questions as I could muster. The result is one of the longest episodes to date, with the AMA spanning three acts and over 60 minutes!Plus, a very special extended news of the week: I chatted with Phil Salvador from the Video Game History Foundation. The VGHF has preserved the Sega Channel, the 1990s predecessor to PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass. How the hell do archivists preserve such a thing? Listen to find out!Now, I’d say this is the final episode of 2025, but that’s not entirely true. Next week, I’ll be sharing a special Patreon-exclusive mini-episode, reflecting on my personal favorite games of the year, along with a few small surprises. But I’m getting ahead of myself!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.