Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

New games, new updates, and a booming streaming culture has contributed to a mini-renaissance for Dungeons & Dragons. Dicebreaker's Sara Elsam joins us to talk about how that happened, as well to talk about her evil bard; adventures in being a DM, and roleplaying vs. systems-based RPGs. Bonus: We take a look at Mistover, a KRPG dungeon crawler, and decide if it deserves the Blood God's blessing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nadia and Kat talk some more about Pokemon Sword and Shield, and some of the surprising references within. (Trust Kat to be able to identify actual real-world stadiums within Galar region.) There's also a lot of end-of-the-year talk about the upcoming Game of the Year Awards, and some of the curious snubs that happened in this year's nominations. Oh Disco Elysium, where art thou? Finally, after all the talk and the news is squared away, it's time for a big mailbag episode, including: 1. Why Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire is good 2. Should Bahamut Lagoon be brought back? 3. How do we handle our backlog? 4. More Sega Saturn RPGs 5. Why Super Hylide was an interesting Sega Genesis RPG 6. Recommendations for more sci-fi RPGs like R-Type Command Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pokemon Sword and Shield is here! GameSpot Pokemon Master Kallie Plagge joins Kat and Nadia to talk about the joys (and the controversies) of the latest generation of Pokemon! [Review begins at 17:22] Plus, we discuss the return of Romancing SaGa 3, and wonder whether Anthem can be saved with a "Realm Reborn" reboot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat takes a break from the RPG beat to talk about one of the biggest games of the year: Death Stranding! She's joined by Eric Van Allen and Hirun Cryer to discuss Bridge Babies, deconstructing America, and clocking bandits over the head with cargo. This one is full of spoilers so beware! Plus: Why it's time for Mass Effect to be remastered. Spoilers begin at 17:40 and continue for the rest of the episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Console RPG Quest returns with the Sega Saturn! We're joined by Digital Foundry's John Linneman to discuss the technology, games, and history that make it a unique standout in the history of consoles. Plus, some Death Stranding review chatter, and a recap of the Diablo 4 and World of WarCraft announcements! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Developers Leonard Boyarsky and Nitai Poddar come on the show to talk about the development of The Outer Worlds, Boyarsky's feelings on Fallout 3, and more. Plus, Mike talks about his review of the game. It's an all Outer Worlds podcast as we go in-depth on this spiritual successor to Fallout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the RPG deluge continuing, Kat and Nadia are joined by Caty and Mike to pick through the biggest releases, including Trails of Cold Steel 3, Disco Elysium, and Little Town Hero. Plus, we talk Witcher 3 on Switch, whether it's been a good generation for games, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mailbag returns as Kat and Nadia talk about what RPGs genre novices should tackle first; revisit the legacy of Final Fantasy 13, and more! Plus, they review Indivisible, the new RPG by the creators of Skullsgirls. Does it live up to the legacy of Valkyrie Profile? Find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're almost finished the 16-bit era in our Console RPG Quest, but first we have to talk about some of the lesser-known consoles of the period. We take a shotgun approach in this episode, covering the RPG histories of the 3DO, Jaguar, NeoGeo, and CDi (they exist!) Also, we say a few words about AlphaDream as it files for bankruptcy, and talk more about portable RPGs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's better than an RPG? An RPG you can stuff in your pocket and tote around like a designer dog. (Please do not shove tiny dogs into your pockets.) With Kat overseas taking care of Big Editor Things for the site this week, Nadia teams up with Eric to discuss the beauty of portable RPGs, and talks about some of their favorite handheld adventures. Also in this episode: The Grandia HD Collection is getting a big patch, and Eric gives his in-depth impressions of GreedFall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices