Slightly Something Else

139

Yahtzee Croshaw, Jack Packard and Marty Sliva do a deep dive into strange or hot topics in the games industry every Tuesday, live on YouTube. Audio episodes are made available on Thursday morning.

Recent Episodes
  • Examining the "Living, Breathing, World" Cliche
    Oct 31, 2023 – 01:19:14
  • Can Games Really Ever Go Back to Their Roots?
    Oct 24, 2023 – 01:20:32
  • You Don't Need Words to Tell A Good Story
    Oct 17, 2023 – 01:26:53
  • Non-Horror Games Can Sometimes Be the Scariest
    Oct 11, 2023 – 01:26:20
  • Your Game Is Adapted From WHAT?!
    Oct 3, 2023 – 01:22:14
  • Has Video Game Violence Jumped the Shark?
    Sep 26, 2023 – 01:22:49
  • Give Us More Games That Make Us Feel Smart
    Sep 20, 2023 – 01:19:47
  • A Good Map is Hard to Find
    Sep 12, 2023 – 01:22:25
  • Starfield and How to Do Space in Games
    Sep 7, 2023 – 01:15:01
  • Sea of Stars and Baldur's Gate 3 Prove Any Genre is Ripe for a Comeback
    Aug 29, 2023 – 01:37:28
  • The Games with Unforgettable Openings
    Aug 22, 2023 – 01:43:26
  • Baldur’s Gate 3 Doesn’t Need to Be Feared
    Aug 15, 2023 – 01:22:02
  • The Difficulty of Following Up a Masterpiece
    Aug 8, 2023 – 01:40:21
  • Are We in a New RPG Golden Age?
    Aug 1, 2023 – 01:57:22
  • 2023 Games That Need More Love
    Jul 25, 2023 – 01:42:31
  • Remember When Valve Made Games?
    Jul 18, 2023 – 01:49:06
  • The Joy of In-Game Jobs
    Jul 11, 2023 – 01:03:20
  • The Bad Games We Still Enjoyed
    Jul 4, 2023 – 01:53:52
  • Final Fantasy's Place in Gaming in 2023
    Jun 27, 2023 – 01:32:29
  • We Need to Talk About Loot
    Jun 20, 2023 – 01:34:01
  • Catching Yahtzee Up on This Year's "Not-E3" Announcements
    Jun 14, 2023 – 01:26:25
  • Fighting Games That Have Actually Hooked Us Over the Years
    Jun 7, 2023 – 01:21:39
  • No, the Latest Bad Game Isn't the Worst Game Ever
    May 30, 2023 – 01:23:18
  • Video Game Horses Are Overrated
    May 23, 2023 – 01:19:47
  • Let's Fix Your Boring Tutorial
    May 16, 2023 – 01:18:02
  • Is Zelda the Best Video Game Franchise Ever?
    May 9, 2023 – 01:20:34
  • The Lost Art of the Video Game Demo
    May 2, 2023 – 01:22:12
  • Grappling Hooks Make Every Game Better
    Apr 25, 2023 – 01:14:22
  • Can Zombie Games Ever Be Interesting Again?
    Apr 19, 2023 – 01:25:57
  • What Makes a Great Gameplay Loop?
    Apr 11, 2023 – 01:18:48
  • The Minigames We Love and Hate
    Apr 4, 2023 – 01:40:54
  • What Does It Take for a Game to Become Immortal?
    Mar 28, 2023 – 01:42:15
  • What Makes a Good Video Game Ending?
    Mar 21, 2023 – 02:01:42
  • How NOT to Do Menus in Games
    Mar 14, 2023 – 01:31:04
  • Have the Big Games of 2013 Aged Well?
    Mar 6, 2023 – 01:30:37
  • Shinji Mikami’s Career is Worth Celebrating
    Feb 28, 2023 – 01:02:31
  • Do You Have to Be Good at Games to Be a Good Critic?
    Feb 21, 2023 – 01:17:39
  • How Much Should Video Games Cost in 2023?
    Feb 14, 2023 – 01:12:25
  • The Video Game Disasters We Couldn't Look Away From
    Feb 7, 2023 – 01:10:25
  • Some Video Game Franchises Could Probably Use a Break
    Jan 31, 2023 – 01:21:09
  • The Video Game Trends We Want to See Go Away
    Jan 24, 2023 – 01:16:46
  • How to Make the Perfect RPG Party
    Jan 17, 2023 – 01:10:37
  • How NOT to Do Relationships in Games
    Jan 10, 2023 – 01:15:22
  • A Quick Look at the World of Video Games in 2023
    Jan 3, 2023 – 01:17:28
  • Have "Spiritual Sequels" Ever Surpassed the Original Games?
    Dec 20, 2022 – 01:08:19
  • Catching Yahtzee Up on this Year's 'The Game Awards'
    Dec 13, 2022 – 01:26:44
  • Why Are So Many Games Poorly Paced?
    Dec 6, 2022 – 01:22:13
  • Nintendo Needs to Reveal the Next Switch ASAP
    Nov 29, 2022 – 01:12:47
  • Just What the Heck IS Sonic?
    Nov 22, 2022 – 01:24:57
  • Let's Discuss this Year's "Game of the Year" Nominations
    Nov 15, 2022 – 01:20:13
Recent Reviews
  • Macaque and the Fuzztones
    Seriously?
    The sound of people eating, literally just people clanging their silverware on their plates, is NOTan ad. F U
  • nauseatingpain
    Compelling video game discourse
    Though it’d be nice if the bloke who isn’t Yahtzee cleared his throat before recording
  • jjes84
    Missed you McBiggitty
    I’m glad you found your way back to the front of the camera! Everyone else is good too.
  • sosur3
    Yahtzee- Says anything, Marty- YEAH! YEAH!
    5/5 stars.
  • DonkeyFlapz
    You got me good, Yahtzee
    I guess I will take that job -Adrian Arnold
  • gold1ie104
    Love it
    Love Jack and Yahtzee and love hearing them discuss games!
  • Self-Adsorbed
    Great Dark Souls Podcast
    Joking in the title of course, I am fully hollowed and proud. Being a fan of Yahtzee Croshaw’s is much like trying to befriend my mother’s cat. I can get pretty close, and using certain methods of communication, I can almost feel like she’s my friend. But there’s always the looming threat that she’s going to get bored and choose to do something else even though I really liked the thing she was doing before. She’s never actually done me wrong, but she always has this disinterested, but somehow focused attitude that is A. The reason I love her, and B. The reason why I have this vague feeling she’ll change what she’s doing. Never fear, my beautiful golden dog enters the fray to soften her edges with friendship and workplace camaraderie. TL;DR This podcast is cozy, addictive, funny, and fascinating. Your chemistry as hosts is undeniable, your debates are nuanced and thoughtful, and you two always stand for your opinions while conceding in others when you are convinced of something. NEVER STOP
  • pandora bread
    superb
    the clash, the improv, the wit. also, the deadpan and the laughs.
  • Surly Aardvark
    Conflicted, indeed. I want it to be great! Not yet, it ain’t.
    I’ve been a fan of Zero Punc since inception, and own several of Mr. Croshaw’s audiobooks. When I came across this podcast, I was really looking forward to a slower-paced look into the reasoning and rationale for his and Mr. Packard’s views on video game issues and such. In this episode (1/25/21, my first ever), I got that, I suppose, but the delivery is almost a dealbreaker. Rather than Mr. Croshaw speaking with his mind with free snark and liberty, it feels as though he’s sitting with his Grandma and winking at us now and again at how polite he’s willing to be. That, and the affirmative, Skeksis-like sing-song humming that Mr. Packard performs whenever Croshaw make an interesting point is rather off-putting. I’m not sure how Croshaw doesn’t find it condescending and/or patronizing (I suppose no more so than the verbal guardrails that Packard maintains for Croshaw, whose charm is the offhanded “incorrect” humor he offers in ZP. We know it’s not 100% serious, but to hear the “easy, now” attitude that comes across, it sounds as though they’re too wary [read: gun-shy] of their audience’s sensitivities.). Let’s all say it slowly to offset the Tomb Raider breast joke, “We. Respect. Women.” Yes. Of course. I’ll give it a couple more episodes, because I really want this to be my favorite Xbox podcast, but I’m not certain I can take it. It might not be like I thought it could be.
  • Rolly01
    Fall asleep listening to this.
    Boring...
  • RK8287
    Love it - better than the animated show, yes!
    I greatly love the conversational approach to these topics vs the cartoon/animated show. Jack is at his best is when he is relaxed and not putting on a persona - which is more a kin to his “previously recorded” days with Rich Evens. Ironically, it’s the opposite for Yahtzee (better when he’s scripting a persona), but overall the conversational tone works with these two. Listening to this has also made the animated show more tolerable, which I now enjoy more when I just listen to it (and not watch it!).
  • Zaqthorn
    Blah blah. Ma ma.
    Ya ya ya boogie woogie. Hocus pocus.
  • The Ship's Cat
    Much more fun
    This is so much better than the scripted bit. And easier to listen to in the car 👍
  • Bobble 13
    Wonderful Collaboration!
    I’ve followed both for years and they make a fantastic team. Their opinions are fair, informative and they always provide an in depth explanation of their viewpoints. I recommend this podcast to anyone (especially old folks like me) who prefer a more mature discussion on the subjects they cover. As a side note, I couldn’t agree more on their stance of ‘The Last of Us’.
  • Tanstaaflmota
    Jack and Yahtzee work perfectly together
    Although this series is (currently) the after show of the available elsewhere Uncivil War, this no-edit show is easily its own entity and is a perfect short run showcase for two well respected games journalists have a short chat about the subject at hand, and design at large. It’s a well done, slower paced, and a very nice podcast. It’s good, just listen ok? Also, great to see the Escapist find its feet again, hopefully it continues to new heights.
  • kakalauncher
    Worth a listen
    Longer form discussion might seem out of place for the snappy review guy, but it is a welcome change of pace to hear some of the thoughts behind the knob jokes.
  • jhammel9
    Very interesting!
    I don’t think it is the greatest thing ever, but it is very good. I think people expect the Yahtzee persona of “Zero Punctuation, “ the swearing, glib reviewer, but he doesn’t appear much in this series. It is not the swords out, bloody, no-holds-barred argument that people expected. However, the discussions are fun, funny, and thought-provoking. It has gotten increasingly better from episode 1 as they develop the framework for this series, and the topics are very current. I highly recommend.
  • ghoulius
    Bizarre content rollout
    I’ve been religiously watching both Jack’s and Yahtzee’s programs for a decade now. This show could not be more up my alley, but I’m going to stop listening. Publishing this show synchronously with content exclusive to the Escapist website creates too much hassle to listen to a half hour of discussion. Escapist be aware, your archaic content rollout strategy is costing you listeners.
  • OtakufromAZ
    Interesting and light hearted
    I love this because the topics are interesting, but the two are pretty light hearted in it. They have good arguments but never get mad at each other.
  • punchout73
    Zero Punctuation should be here too
    Anything with Yahtzee on it... COUNT ME IN. SIGN ME UP
  • some reviewing bloke
    I like it
    It’s good
  • Orchid Revelation
    Thoughtful and Important
    In our wild and constantly changing industry, Yahtzee has the most thoughtful and coherent voice, drawing from his experience as a critic, journalist, developer and author. But honestly listening to him watch paint dry would still be entertaining, he’s just that witty.
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