Aftermath Hours

On this week’s episode, Riley, Luke, and Isaiah intend to talk about a lot of topics, but mostly can’t keep themselves from talking about Clair Obscur. We start by talking about two stories Aftermath ran this week: one in favor of parrying in video games, and one against. Those stories kicked off a flurry of discourse on social media, which we found mostly to be in good fun, and we talk about how those kinds of conversations are different now that we’re at Aftermath instead of a larger site. Clair Obscur features parrying, so then we talk about that game a whole lot.Then, we discuss this week’s layoffs at Electronic Arts, which follow on the heels of *other* layoffs at Electronic Arts. We wonder why several companies have run into trouble with licensed games, and we talk about the challenge of getting players excited about Marvel games when the MCU is facing its own uphill battle.Last, we talk about what games we’re playing lately. Luke goes through a lot of games he didn’t like before landing on one he did, 9 Kings. Riley wishes he were playing more Clair Obscur, so then we talk about that game a whole bunch more, and we debate whether it can ever be “too late” to talk about a video game.To close, we answer some mailbag questions about the best wrestling moves, what we’d do if we were CEO of EA, and who we trust to give us game recommendations.   Credits- Hosts: Riley MacLeod, Luke Plunkett, & Isaiah Colbert- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Luke are joined by Aftermath’s newest regular contributor, former Polygon senior reporter Nicole Carpenter to discuss her tenure at the freshly gutted games media institution, as well as how she got into journalism in the first place. She also tells us about the time she got to speak to the voice of Barbie for a story, and she started speaking in character without even being asked. You love to hear it. Then we delve into the news of the week: First, the community around Google Maps-based location guessing game GeoGuessr protested the game’s inclusion in the Saudi-backed Esports World Cup by blacking out most of the game’s most popular maps… and it worked? Despite the prevailing mentality that corporate interests and oil money will overcome all, GeoGuessr’s developers relented and pulled out of the event. We talk about the ways in which this situation was unique, but conclude that it can still serve as an inspiration to other gaming communities unnerved by the sudden presence of a  sportswashing festival on their annual calendars. Then we move on to Grow A Garden, a Roblox game Nicole wrote about that has more concurrent players than anything on Steam. Why is it so popular? And what is Roblox offering young people that more traditional games don’t? Lastly, we accept an offer from the King Of All Cosmos and transform Aftermath into a giant ball company.Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, & special guest Nicole Carpenter- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Chris are joined by Jeff Grubb of the newly independent Giant Bomb, an incredible turnaround from just a few weeks ago when it seemed like corporate meddling had blown the whole operation sky high. We discuss how Jeff and the rest of the Giant Bomb crew managed to buy their freedom and what the future holds now that the shackles are off (a lot more, as Jeff puts it, “bullshit”). Then we move on to recent Switch 2 news – hardware specs are out, and also Nintendo isn’t sending pre-release units to press – and talk about very specific games we’ve been playing (RoadCraft, a truck sicko sandbox, and The Hundred Line, aka Fire Emblem for freaks). Finally, we reach into the depths of the mailbag and pull out the Scrappy Doo of video games, as well as an extended digression about Chris’ wild yet undeniably alluring Norwegian chair.Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, & special guest Jeff Grubb- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Gita engage in a savvy act of brand synergy by bringing on extremely vocal AI critic and friend of the show Ed Zitron to celebrate the release of Aftermath’s new “Destroy AI” shirt, which we made in conjunction with Kim Hu, an incredible (human) artist, and are very proud of. We eventually get around to talking about the extra-shimmery AI bubble, but first: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Ed got into it recently, and ⅗ of Aftermath have been obsessed with it for years, so obviously we’ve got to ramble like a runaway train about the good (cool powers, clever fights, fun characters), the bad (a season that you can cut the entire middle out of), and the ugly (baby poop jokes) of the incredibly idiosyncratic anime. Then we discuss the societal rot AI continues to inspire, with kids cheating their way through school, normies having no idea what hallucinations are, and vulnerable people being talked into believing they’re god. Still, Ed doesn’t think this thing – or at least, the companies undergirding it – can last. The people in charge have no idea what human beings actually want or need, and that will come back to bite them eventually. Finally, we discuss Grand Theft Auto VI, which is a departure for the series in that it seems like a romance between two legitimately likable main characters. But can it sustain such an intimate dynamic in a game where you’ll inevitably end up murdering 9,000 dudes? I guess we’ll see! Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, & special guest Ed Zitron- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On a very special (for bad reasons) episode of Aftermath Hours, Nathan, Riley, Chris, and Luke convene to mourn the apparent – and horrifyingly sudden – passing of two games media institutions: Polygon and Giant Bomb. None of this was, strictly speaking, necessary, with the former an unqualified success in terms of traffic and regard while the latter boasted a dedicated audience drawn to its unique mix of personalities. But of course, execs decided to gut both – on the same day, no less – and now we’re left wondering what comes next. Independent, worker-owned sites like ours hope to pave a path toward a better future, but that will take a lot of time, and many excellent writers are out of work right now. Then, in less soul-crushing news, we discuss this year’s latest surprise hit, extremely French RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which absolutely rules. Finally, we wrap up with the longest mailbag in the show’s history, so get comfortable! Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Riley MacLeod, Chris Person, & Luke Plunkett- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Nathan and Chris are joined by Aftermath’s first-ever regular contributor, Isaiah Colbert, to talk about the latter’s speciality: anime. It does not take long for this to spiral into a fittingly multi-part conversation about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but we also manage to at least briefly tackle issues pertaining to labor in the anime and manga industries and fans’ reaction (or lack thereof) to pervasive crunch at major studios. Then we discuss Nathan’s big, months-in-the-making report on OTK, a streamer organization headed up by Twitch stars like Asmongold and Mizkif which finds itself facing an uncertain future after years of scandal and streamers, who also own the organization, losing interest. After that, Chris gushes about Blue Prince, a roguelite puzzle game tailor-made for the exact kind of person Chris is. Finally, we answer a reader question about everybody’s favorite completely uncontroversial anime topic: fan service. Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, & special guest Isaiah Colbert- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To celebrate the return of Inside Baseball Week – during which we publish a barrage of stories about the lesser-known parts of game dev, the ins and outs of games journalism, and other topics so specific no other website would ever touch them – we put together a roundtable about worker-owned media featuring Aftermath’s Nathan Grayson and Riley MacLeod, Defector’s David Roth, 404 Media’s Emanuel Maiberg, and Hell Gate’s Max Rivlin-Nader. We go deep on all sorts of topics: What was the hardest part of starting a publication in this mold? How did you know when you’d found your site’s voice? How do you collectively make decisions when everyone’s an owner? Who handles business stuff when everyone’s a writer (and, in Aftermath’s case, definitely NOT a businessperson)? How do you promote the written word to a video-obsessed internet? And at what point do you, somebody who got into this business to be a journalist, have to transform yourself into at least a bit of an influencer? And perhaps most importantly, how can sites like ours work together to create a scene that provides opportunities to new voices as opposed to just cashing in on preexisting clout? Finally, we get to the topic everyone’s really listening for: the awkward truth underlying podcast ad reads about people’s guts not working right. Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Riley MacLeod, & special guests David Roth, Emanuel Maiberg, and Max Rivlin-Nader- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Nathan and Chris are joined by special guest Mike Drucker, comedian and writer on shows like Adam Ruins Everything, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and  Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, to talk about his new book, Good Game, No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games. We discuss how games and people’s relationship to them have changed over the years – and also the time Mike got shot in the dick with a paintball gun while working for Nintendo. Speaking of Nintendo, we then move on to the Switch 2, which the company finally revealed in earnest this week with a handful of intriguing games (Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, a new FromSoftware game) and a price tag that’s giving would-be buyers serious sticker shock as a result of, well, everything else going on in the world right now. We also put out into the universe the idea of a new DK Rap – but this time they hire a legit rapper and play it totally straight. Please, Nintendo, fulfill our dreams.Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, & special guest Mike Drucker- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Nathan, Gita, and Riley briefly talk about their true passion, shirts, before elegantly segueing into a conversation about Ubisoft’s extremely eventful week: The embattled publisher announced that it’s spinning off its most successful series, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six, into a separate subsidiary thanks to a $1.25 billion investment from Chinese conglomerate Tencent. What does this mean for those remaining aboard the Ubisoft mothership? And will this lead to even more heads rolling following layoffs and studio closures in December? Then we move on to the AI abomination of the week: an image filter based on the works of Studio Ghibli, whose most famous creative, Hayao Miyazaki, once called AI “an insult to life itself.” After that, we give our final appraisal of Severance season two, which was not perfect, but which managed to hit some impressive high notes and benefited from largely focusing on characters over mystery box shenanigans. Gita doesn’t love Ben Stiller’s directorial style, and Riley doesn’t think Severance is necessarily a Smart Show, but those things don’t prevent it from being good, if that makes sense. If it doesn’t, listen to the episode! Finally, we come up with a simple solution to the problem of mass media illiteracy: change all of society. Seems like something we can knock out in a day or two, so let’s get cracking.Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, & Riley MacLeod- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.