Gaming In The Wild - Video Game Reviews

John Rogers
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Apr 24, 2025 • 40min

253: Blue Prince, Promise Mascot Agency

Promise Mascot Agency is a pocket-sized open world like no other. Playing a disgraced Yakuza consigned to a dying former mining town, it's part open-world collectathon, part management sim, and part visual novel. But none of that does justice to game's truly bizarre charm, or the unrestrained chaos and humour that make it ones of the best indie games of the year so far.In the roundup: Clair Obscur, South of Midnight, Blue Prince, Drop Duchy, and more.Join the Patreon: http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild.Follow on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gaminginthewild.bsky.socialSee videos on YouTube: http://youtube.com/gaminginthewildFollow the Steam curator page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43457463-Gaming-in-the-Wild-%2528unofficial%2529/Thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Apr 16, 2025 • 1h

252: London Games Festival

London Games Festival 2025 was a packed event this year, with events including New Game+, Now Play This, Good Game Dev Club, Darkfield At The Ditch, the BAFTA Awards, and more. I was in London for the festivities, and this episode is my report on the festival.Games covered: Herdling, Will: Follow The Light, Passant, Beyond The Board, Battle Suit Aces, Gunboat God, Button Man, Moroi, Henry Halfhead, Time Flies, Wheel World, Lushfoil Photography Sim, All Will Rise, Treeplanter, and Vapourwave Pinball. Check out the Steam demos of some of these here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/LondonGamesFestival2025.In the roundup: Blue Prince, Promise Mascot Agency.Thanks to Genny Dixon, Fergus Craig, Kim & Nathan, New Game+, and Ciaran Daly.Become a patron for bonus episodes and loads of fun perks: http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild.Find me on Bluesky, YouTube, the Steam curator page, etc: http://gaminginthewild.com.Thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Apr 4, 2025 • 57min

251: The Best Switch Indie Games

Your host is off galavanting at the London Games Festival this week, so this episode a little inbetweener. It's a look back at the Nintendo Switch — which was *the* place to play indie games on console, for a while — and the great indies it'll be remembered for.In the roundup: Lushfoil Photography Sim, Promise Mascot Agency, Koira.This episode's audio is from a YouTube video you can watch here: https://youtu.be/48f-zXDkuaUPlease consider supporting the pod by becoming a patron! You get 15 bonus podcasts, a patron Discord invite, and more: http://patreon.com/gaminginthewildFollow the Steam curator page here to see recommendations while you browse games: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43457463-Gaming-in-the-Wild-%2528unofficial%2529/And thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Mar 31, 2025 • 1h 6min

250: Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV

Act IV of KRZ takes the form of an epic river journey that feels like the centrepiece of the game. It's a voyage down the Echo River aboard the Mucky Mammoth, with the player no longer behind the wheel. We drift between the various members of our ragtag group, deepening our understanding of Ezra, Will, Junebug & Johnny, Shannon, and the ailing Conway, who seems to be losing his grip on the world.As per this play along series, the pod is sprinkled with comments from patrons, pals, and listeners: thanks to Dovetail, Lenka, Zanem, Ray, Skogstokig, and Dave for chipping in. Y'all outdid yourselves in the act.You can join this playthrough (and future ones like it) at ⁠http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild⁠. You also get 15 patron bonus episodes, an invite to the Discord community, and the warm feeling of knowing you're supporting me in making this podcast.I'm away from my home studio for a couple of weeks starting tomorrow, but there's some Gaming In The Wild scheduled for YouTube later this week: http://youtube.com/gaminginthewild.And I'll be posting on social media from the road: ⁠http://gaminginthewild.com⁠.Thanks for listening, back soon!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Mar 20, 2025 • 37min

249: Dawnfolk, Assassin's Creed Shadows

This week we really do run the gamut of indie to AAA with reviews of tile-based solo dev strategy game Dawnfolk, and the latest Ubisoft blockbuster Assassin's Creed Shadows. Thanks to both developers for supplying review codes!In the roundup: Everhood 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, Promise Mascot Agency.Support this podcast for the price of a coffee each month, and get loads of perks and extras for your generosity! http://patreon.com/gaminginthewildCheck out the YouTube for more GITW content: http://youtube.com/gaminginthewild.Follow the Steam curator page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43457463-Gaming-in-the-Wild-%2528unofficial%2529/And thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Mar 17, 2025 • 1h 12min

248: Kentucky Route Zero - Act III

The third act of Kentucky Route Zero is a chunky one, featuring some new and recurring characters, pivotal story moments, and arguably the most iconic scene in the game.Join this playthrough, get bonus episodes, join the Discord, and support this podcast at http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild.See the videos and find me on social media: http://gaminginthewild.com.Thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Mar 11, 2025 • 31min

247: The Best of Steam Next Fest

This week's episode takes a little breather from the KRZ playthrough as people catch up with Acts II & III. There's a good reason for that: Steam Next Fest happened last week, and a lot of people dived right into the ocean of demos.In fact, the GITW patron community played over 150 demos collectively then voted on their favourites. So this episode we have some honourable mentions, the community's top five, and then my own top five best of the fest. (You can watch the video version of the main segment here: https://youtu.be/nVfZDZIbq3A.)I also discuss the channel's recent little patron influx, and talk about trying to make podcasting and video-making into a part time job. If you're up for supporting me on that road, thank you so much — head here: https://www.patreon.com/gaminginthewild. And big thanks to boss tier patrons Shy Guy and Hollow, and new patrons Paolo, Rob, Gerudo, Bayleafu, Noah, Ethan, Dom, Brandon, Jeremy, and Toph. And all the veteran patrons too!In the roundup: AC Shadows, Everhood 2, Wanderstop, Monster Hunter Wilds.Follow the show on Bluesky here: https://tinyurl.com/gitw-blueskyAnd elsewhere on social media: http://gaminginthewild.carrd.coAnd as always, thanks for listening, enjoy the show!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Mar 3, 2025 • 1h 3min

246: Kentucky Route Zero - Act II

This is second episode of the KRZ deep dive series and community playthrough. We cover Act II of the game — the Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces, The Zero, Random Access Self Storage, The Museum of Dwellings, and the Forest — and the second interlude, an interactive play entitled 'The Entertainment'.Thanks to everyone in the patron Discord who submitted comments and questions! Join them in supporting the show, and play along with us: http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild.Hop over and sub to the YouTube for more GITW stuff, including the Next Fest roundup coming later this week: http://youtube.com/gaminginthewild.And thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Feb 24, 2025 • 55min

245: Kentucky Route Zero - Act I

The Kentucky Route Zero deep-dive begins! To mark five years of GITW, we're going back to the game that started it all. The first episode looks at Act I of the game, and the first interlude 'Limits And Demonstrations'.This game is a breakthrough, a landmark, and a high water mark for video games as art. Its acts and interludes contain multitudes: digital art exhibits, interactive poetry, a fully staged play complete with audience, and a tangled web of scenes, characters, and histories. At its heart lies a story about people falling through the cracks of America – but it contains so much more than that.It's also a GITW community playthrough, with patrons of the podcast playing along and offering insights and questions that become part of the pod. Feel free to play along, or to join the Patreon and add your own input for the next episodes at http://patreon.com/gaminginthewild.Thanks for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Feb 19, 2025 • 44min

244: The Best Indie Games of the 2020s

Gaming in the Wild is five! And to celebrate, here's a special episode: a rundown of the 20 best indie games I've covered since the podcast began.Show your appreciation, support the show, and help me hit 100 patrons target! http://patreon.com/gaminginthewildYouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xbNKMtNKP8Thanks for listening everyone! and extra-special thanks to everyone in the Discord community. Here's to five more years ! <3Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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