GROGPOD Roguelike Podcast (Scott V. Burger )

We’re live! Join us for the first episode of the podcast on the surprise hit of 2011: Dungeons of Dredmor by Gaslamp Games. Get your Diggles in a row, stop by a vending machine and hear about our plans for the podcast and what we think about monster zoos. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:13 - Motivation and goals for the podcast 7:25 - What are roguelikes? How did we get into the genre? 17:11 - Dungeons of Dredmor! 1:02:38 - Final thoughts Next episode: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com Intro/outro music “Blue Monk” by Thelonious Monk Trio

Prepare to cry edition! For our spookiest episode yet, we are covering a historic pillar of the modern Roguelike genre by covering the 2011 smash hit The Binding of Isaac and its 2014 remaster The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. It’s not a trick, it will be a treat to listen to … if you dare traverse the depths of Mom’s basement! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:51 - game stats 47:50 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Hack, Slash, Loot / A Valley Without Wind / Pineapple Smash Crew Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com Intro music: Charles Mingus - Moanin’ Outro music: Binding of Isaac Rebirth - Genesis 22:10

We kick off the roguelikes of 2012 with a collection of the some pretty extreme indie titles: Hack, Slash, Loot - a coffeebreak length roguelike with inventory slots as small as your character, the overall bamboozling title A Valley Without Wind, and the explosive squad-based shooter Pineapple Smash Crew. Thanks again for David Williamson and Rich Edwards for providing indie game dev Q&A for this episode. You can find David’s full response here and you can find Rich’s one here. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 4:49 - Hack, Slash, Loot 23:20 - A Valley Without Wind 43:02 - Pineapple Smash Crew 59:21 - Rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Cargo Commander / Realm of the Mad God / Din’s Curse Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! Intro music: Pharoah Sanders - You’ve Got To Have Freedom Outro music: Syphus - Fragmentation Symphony

Happy GROGsgiving all! This week we go down the wormhole on a couple super indie titles and one megapopular rogue. We talk about how Mario meets Inception with Cargo Commander, the overwhelming visual nature of Realm of the Mad God, and the spartan enigmatically of Din’s Curse. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 3:26 - Cargo Commander 27:11 - Realm of the Mad God 48:36 - Din’s Curse 1:08:13 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: FTL: Faster Than Light Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! Intro music: Bill Evans - Romain Outro music: Nineyards - Down the Drain

Fire up your warp drives because we’re outrunning the rebels to deliver to YOU what they’re after: a podcast about one of the most popular roguelikes of all time: FTL Faster Than Light. We are lucky to be joined by our good friend Woody Ciskowski from the Ultra64 / Wii-Universe podcast (https://www.ultra64podcast.com/) to talk about how giant alien spiders are no joke. FTL Multiverse info can be found here. A direct download link can be found here. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:37 - game stats 4:40 - one sentence summary 1:02:13 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Sword of the Stars: The Pit Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Eric Dolphy - Hat and Beard Outro music: Ben Prunty - Space Cruise

A space plague has broken out, but you have to break in to The Pit! Join us as we dive through 30 floors of monsters and robots with shotguns, psionics, and hyper intelligent dolphins and explore the cartoonishly styled traditional roguelike from the Sword of the Stars creative universe. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:12 - game stats 1:00:42 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Invisible, Inc. Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Bill Evans - Santa Claus is Coming to Town Outro music: Ben Lam - Sword of the Stars Main Menu Theme

Call me Sna- uh, er, Inc. Invisible, Inc. The tactical espionage (action?) game by renknown developers Klei Entertainment! Your mission, should you choose to download it, is to tune in on our descriptions of cybernetic noir, wireless daemon hacking, and comparisons with X-Com. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:20 - game stats 3:50 - one sentence summary 50:37 - rankings and final thoughts 56:04 - listener emails Next episode: Stacklands Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Bill Evans - Romain Outro music: Vince de Vera and Jason Garner - Plastech Cybermedical

Stack ‘em up! This week we’re playing the 2022 (literal) card game by the Sockpop Collective that became way more popular than they could have imagined. Join our Strange Portal of discussion about walls of carrots, ninjas, magic dust, and booster packs as we build a village of slowly completing progress bars in this relaxed and chill game of survival. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:09 - game stats 2:23 - one sentence summary 48:58 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Risk of Rain Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Thelonious Monk Quartet - ‘Round Midnight Outro music: Stacklands Village Theme

Today’s forecast is partly sunny with a Risk of Rain. Join us to talk about the 10 year old (but timeless in our hearts) loot-collecting roguelike platformer with an incredibly enduring legacy. Be a Burning Witness to a podcast where two Meat Nuggets try to convince the third that his Tough Times could really just be solved by seven Crowbars and a Hydraulic Gauntlet. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:28 - game stats 3:24 - one sentence summary 14:20 - our story begins 54:20 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Fights in Tight Spaces Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby Outro music: Chris Christodoulou - Coalescence

If we FITS then we SITS down to listen to this week’s episode on Fights in Tight Spaces! Drop into a room with a bunch of very patient and polite criminals for this highly stylized deckbuilding roguelike. Keep your momentum up, sharpen up those high heels, and watch those replays of the spinning roundhouse kicks yeet those biker gangs right out the door! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:24 - game stats 2:22 - one sentence summary 1:05:32 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Warsim - The Realm of Aslona Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Freddie Hubbard - First Light Outro music: Kinetic Move - nervous_testpilot

This week is a podcast episode so cunning you could brush your teeth with it! We finally answer the question: what if Dwarf Fortress, Zork, and Black Adder all joined forces into a game made by a single person in a 70,000 line long single program? Why of course the answer is Warsim: The Realm of Aslona! In our most widely divergent podcast thus far, we talk about goblin arena fighting statistics and gambling addictions, failing history exams of the Far North, and of course, the Doomstone! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:20 - game stats 3:03 - one sentence summary 1:04:49 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Cogmind Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Sun Ra - Kingdom of Not Outro music: Warsim main menu theme

Query(Cogmind) » A podcast episode about evolving a robot in a facility hell-bent on destroying it. We talk about one of the most influential modern traditional roguelike games of the past few years and why Will probably needs thicker glasses. This episode will crawl up from the scrapyard to escape to the surface of Tau Ceti IV with all sorts of lasers and tank treads attached. Trojan(Download) » Force(Listen). Chance of Success: High (100%) Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:05 - game stats 1:41 - one sentence summary 1:00:11 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Low Magic Age Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Sadik Hakim - Peace of Mind Outro music: Cogmind ambient soundscape

Roll for initiative! This week’s episode has us examining the world of Dungeons and Dragons through the DnD combat simulator Low Magic Age. Join us for dicussions on vancian magic, royalty free music overlaps with previous episodes, and summoner-based arena races! We put the pal back in paladin and wonder why it is that you can’t make an Asamir chatoic evil. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:45 - game stats 2:46 - one sentence summary 48:24 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Hand of Fate 1+2 Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Teru - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Outro music: Low Magic Age - Battle Music

I am GROGPOD. I take care of the place while the Master is away. What’s that? Oh HAND of Fate! Yes that’s the game (not movie) that we’re playing this week. Join us as we talk through two games of card shuffling, gnome-kicking, moustache twirling mania with our special guest Dahlia Tolleth! The Master would definitley approve of you listening to this episode. Prepare to explore some trap-laden dungeons, negotiate with bandis and play some metronome-based fishing minigames with Hand of Fate 1 and it’s well-polished sequel Hand of Fate 2. It will be dark soon. There is no way out of not downloading this podcast. It will be dark soon. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:50- game stats 3:51 - one sentence summary 58:15 - rankings and final thoughts 1:04:28 - listener emails Next episode: Streets of Rogue Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Robert Smith Jr - Love Inside This Magic Circle Outro music: Jeff van Dyck - Hand of Fate

THE OOZE! IT SPREADS! We have a surprise double-feature this time because we accidentally beat our planned episode of Streets of Rogue too quickly. It turns out the apes that run this podcast ooked too hard for the new mayoral election and won in a landslide. So to balance out the podcast, we’re also talking about Devolver Digital’s surprise roguelike hit Loop Hero! Join us to hear about drug-hunting robots, zombie apocalypses, and the heat death of the universe. Brother may I have some more loops? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:44 - Streets of Rogue game stats 2:31 - one sentence summary 24:10 - Loop Hero game stats 25:23 - one sentence summary 57:47 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Griftlands Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Harlem Nocturne - Corelli Jazz Orchestra Outro music: Craig Barnes - Slum Scrum

When you walk in Griftlands, you better watch your back. There’s no room for heroes, just mercenaries and hacks. Every decision counts, every card in your hand. Gonna need luck to get through this land. Join us as the podcast hosts use both our battle and negotiation decks to convince each other about Griftlands’ rankings this week. Tune in for Will’s chicanery-level rant on games that aren’t Slay the Spire. Better call Sal Ik-Derrick! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:10 - game stats 3:06 - one sentence summary 6:02 - our story begins 1:01:21 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Monster Train Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Tom Waits - Down in the Hole Outro music: Griftlands OST - Smith Boss Battle Theme

We’re on the Highway to roguelike deckbuilding Hell this week, riding a Crazy Train filled with demons, sentient blackberry bushes, and occultic Lumières! We are also joined by special guest Joe Homes from Cephalofair Games: publisher of the award-winning tabletop deckbuilding game Gloomhaven, so there will be at least one person here who knows what they’re talking about in terms of game design. Come listen in on one of our highest rated games in a long while, as we discuss stategies to beat 4 story-tall gem gods and consume tasty, tasty, morsels. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:58 - game stats 4:58 - one sentence summary 7:01 - our story begins 1:00:17 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Darkest Dungeon II Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train Outro music: Jordan Chin - Daedalus, The Professor

Are you tired of the daily grind? Stressed out from the demands of modern life? Introducing Darkest Dungeons 2, the stress-relieving sequel that will transport you to a world where your worries melt away and your courage shines through. For the low, low price of … urhgm … $40, you too can battle eldritch horrors beyond your comprehension! Listen in on another contentious episode where the hosts try to keep their stress levels below the meltdown threshold. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:00 - game stats 3:57 - one sentence summary 5:41 - our story begins 1:01:58 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Shattered Pixel Dungeon Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Sonny Rollins Trio - Wagon Wheels Outro music: Stuart Chatwood - Battle of the Mountain

You have 1 new message: a podcast episode about the hit roguelike mobile game Shattered Pixel Dungeon! We explore the android/ios sphere for the first time with an influential open source and community-driven spin on the dungeon crawling genre. Join us old boomers as we puzzle out why all the kids are looking at their phones all the time. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:31 - game stats 4:31 - one sentence summary 46:50 - reddit meltdown 54:28 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Enter the Gungeon Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Sonny Rollins - Dial S For Sonny Outro music: Kristjan Thomas Haaristo - DM300 Boss Theme

Ooooooh guns gun guns! The GROGPOD is playin to-night! I never miss a game. This week we visit an all-time bullet-hell classic of Enter The Gungeon. How many gun puns can we cram into 60 minutes? Is it as easy as shooting fish in a barrel, or using a barrel to shoot fish instead? Lock ‘n’ load your Uzi 9MM, your .45 longslide with laser sighting, and join us in finding a bullet that can kill our past. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 5:26 - Shattered Pixel Dungeon episode fallout 6:44 - game stats 12:54 - one sentence summary 18:54 - our story begins 1:23:26 - rankings and final thoughts 1:33:55 - guest plugs Next episode: Cult of the Lamb Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - Gunslinging Bird Outro music: doseone - Enter the Gun

Welcome to the family follower. Everyone here is happy and healthy. CHOP WOOD! MINE STONE! Obey our glorious leaders commands! This week we meditate on the nature of organized labor and religious indoctrination with Cult of the Lamb. What lies beneath the adorable art and crown that sits atop our infallible and fluffly leader’s head? Tune in for how to build your very own machine learning model to cheat at Knucklebones. That’s not a commandment, right? The Lamb is good, the Lamb is great, we surrender our will as of this date! No microphone problems, in the name of The Lamb! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:22 - game stats 3:29 - one sentence summary 12:15 - our story begins 53:42 - rankings and final thoughts 1:01:20 - listener emails Next episode: Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! Request an episode here https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Archie Shepp - Like a Blessed Baby Lamb Outro music: River Boy - Work and Worship

Snake eyes! Because we forgot to do our homework this week, we are gambling away our fortunes to pay our rent with Luck Be A Landlord! Come spin some slots in a cutesy veneer of a capitalist hellscape. We needed some more time to review CDDA so stay tuned in an upcoming episode, but we did conduct an interesting set of dev interviews that you can check out here. In the meantime, get your crabs in a row, your gem golems lined up, and anchors in the corners for our spiciest take on apartment rent yet! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 0:51 - CDDA episode update 2:45 - game stats 3:47 - one sentence description 13:11 - our story begins 48:18 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Surprise listener request episode! It’s a secret! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Elvin Jones - Lady Luck Outro music: Vincent Colavita - Big Man Zaroff

Hold onto your Brotatoes! You demanded, we listened: listener request week is over and from the ashes of our submissions arose the bullet heaven Brotato and the tower defense zombie horde killhouse The Last Spell. We are also joined by a new full-time member of the podcast: previous guest Andrew Harshman! With so much content to cover, will we be able to channel our summoner energies together before the hour is up? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:42 - The GROGPOD Grows! 4:09 - Brotato game stats 5:46 - One sentence description 23:22 - The Last Spell game stats 25:00 - One sentence description 27:00 - Our story begins 1:11:30 - Rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Eldritch Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Jean Luc Ponty - Mirage Outro music: The Algorithm - Oath

Ymg’ ah ain’ghft eldritch n’ghftdrn ai! This week the podcast dials back the clock to one of the earliest roguelike games released on Steam: Eldritch! You remember Minecraft, right? Ever thought to yourself: “What if it had a bunch of tentacle monsters and guns?” Well have we got the game for you! Tune in as we confusingly bumble our way around a library looking for a good book to escape into, literally. All the while trying to frantically run away from gloopy, wet fish-men looking to mess you up in traditional H.P. Lovecraft fashion. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:25 - game stats 4:18 - one sentence description 10:10 - our story begins 47:23 - rankings and final thoughts 54:57 - similar games Next episode: One Way Heroics Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Eric Verlinde - Are You Free Outro music: Eldritch OST - Mountains of Madness

One way or another, we were going to play this hit indie JRPG roguelike! Its One Way Heroics week for this dimension, as we take a keen eye at some anime pixel mobs and try not to wall ourselves in with a creeping black wall of doom. We must move forwards, not backwards! Upwards not forwards! And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards the 2000 KM goal to save the kingdom from the dark dragon of doom. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 3:13 - game stats 6:23 - one sentence description 8:17 - let’s talk JRPGs 16:54 - our story begins 58:00 - rankings and final thoughts 1:04:04 - similar games Next episode: Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Thelonious Monk - Straight No Chaser Outro music: Beginning Theme 1 - Saia Hyouseki, Boss Dead Theme 2 - Jinfa Dragon Symphony

It’s finally here, our episode on one of the major traditional roguelike cornerstones: Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. Humanity’s greatest desire is to drive crudely built, ascii-tiled cars in open source videogame projects. That and escape from zombies, of course. Tune in as we spend half an hour trying to open up menu systems and try to see just how big this fantastical world of “New England” really is. There’s only so much time to listen to this episode before XE037 finds you and adds you to the blobular collective! As noted, we’ve done a few developer interviews for CDDA which you can find here. Thanks to the devs for taking the time to answer some of our questions! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:30 - game stats 5:12 - one sentence description 6:37 - »»CDDA fans trigger warning alert«« 14:36 - our story begins 1:03:02 - rankings and final thoughts 1:17:52 - similar games Next episode: A GROGPOD fight club special episode to celebrate our 1 year anniversary of the podcast! We’ll be tackling the topic of “What Is A Roguelike?” There will be blood! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Hal Leonard Jazz Ensemble - Ain’t No Sunshine Outro music: CDDA Chesthole Soundpack - Ambient Track 1

Happy GROGSversary! As we celebrate one whole year of doing this program, we combine our forces to attempt our own answer at the unsolvable question of “what is a roguelike?” In possibly our longest episode to date, we dive into the pre-history of rogue-games, the infamous Berlin Interpretation, and just how “rogue-lite” games fit into all this. We talk about jazz subgenres, whether or not Minecraft is a roguelike game, Solitaire (yes that one), hierarchies of game design needs, and who could forget Elf Metal! Of course, no one can be told what a roguelike is, you have to experience them for yourself. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:56 - Today’s fight club topic: What is a roguelike game? 4:07 - Our story begins / why do we care? 13:30 - One-sentence summaries of roguelike genre definitions 15:30 - What is the original 1980 Rogue, the first games like Rogue, the Berlin Interpretation 30:00 - What are rogue-lites? 2008’s Spelunky, Binding of Isaac, and Rogue Legacy 49:32 - Are “-lite” games less hardcore? Does metaprogression matter? 56:42 - How roguelike is this game? (Minecraft, Diablo, X-Com, Into the Breach, Deep Rock Galactic, Don’t Starve, Inscryption, Gloomhaven) 1:08:30 - Data-driven roguey-ness and Steam tags 1:16:28 - Can board games be roguelikes? 1:20:55 - Do music genres suffer the same problem that the rogue-community has? 1:27:00 - Summary and final thoughts As promised, below you can find some of our notes referenced in this chonker of a recording: Our collected list of roguelike definitions over the years Scott’s 16 pages of show notes Will’s hierarchy of game needs Colin’s google sheet of undebateably roguey-ness scores Check out Scott’s tangentially related talk on The Data Science of Roguelikes here! See how the genre has evolved over time with our definitions timeline here. Next episode: Rimworld Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Bill Evans - Nardis Outro music: Tarn Adams - Dwarf Fortress mode theme

Have you ever thought to yourself ‘Is it possible to import my friends into this game and harvest their skin for the leather of my chairs?’ Then you’ve tuned to the right episode! In an accidentally relevant-to-spooky-season selection, we turn to Rimworld! But wait, that’s not a roguelike, you’ll inevitably shout at your podcast feed. We decided to pull some editorial leeway this time with the defense of ‘well if Dwarf Fortress did it…’ Join our starving colonists as they try to figure out how to grow potatoes and fight off insectoid invasions and mind pulse machines as they dig too deep and unleash the terrors of internet connectivity issues. Thanks again for the gracious hosts of this year’s Roguelike Celebration, in which Scott was able to present his talk ‘The Data Science of Roguelikes’. You can find it on youtube here! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:47 - Welcome new listeners from the 2023 Roguelike Celebration! 3:20 - Game stats 5:09 - One sentence description 13:07 - Our story begins 1:05:30 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:18:27 - Similar games Next episode: AK-xolotl Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Kenny Burrell - Out of This World Outro music: Alistair Lindsay - Alpaca

Who’s a good baby amphibian? Is it you? Is it you? It is AK-Xolotl: the AK-47 wielding, you guessed it, axolotl baby raising simulator! Are reptiles different than amphibians? Is it worth sacrificing your children for permenant meta-progression unlocks? These are the kinds of questions all new parents need to answer at some point in their quest to take down Cthulhu-like monstrosities and heavy metal kittens. What other podcast will go into depth on axolotl biology while also talking about the intracacies of the Sten 9×19mm? Who’s a good submachine gun? Is it you? Is it you? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:14 - Game stats 3:04 - One sentence description 9:57 - Our story begins 55:28 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:01:30 - Similar games Next episode: Dead Cells Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - II B.S.* Outro music: AK-xolotl - Hell’O Kitty

That gooey flopping sound isn’t your GROGsgiving dinner quite yet, it’s the sound of you being reanimated for another run of the 2018 hit action platformer Dead Cells! Join the crew and returning guest Woody as we slice, dice, parry, and pray for mercy against monstrous bosses and darkening sephulcurs. Feel the guitar-strumming beat of a French co-op gamedev’s masterpiece and strap in for some fast kickin’, low biome times, and meta-progression? You bet! We round out this season of the podcast with a great one, but we’ve covered a lot of great games this year. Our next episode will feature a playoff tournament of our top rated games to see who takes the ultimate crown this year. Place your votes here and use your democratic power to help us crown a champion. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 4:27 - Game stats 13:48 - One sentence description 16:55 - Our story begins 1:08:29 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:17:50 - Similar games 1:21:48 - Roguelike playoffs preview! Next episode: GROGPOD Roguelike Playoffs - the Omegabowl! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster - Prisoner of Love Outro music: Valmont - ClockTower

The end of season 1 of the podcast is here and to celebrate we are pitting our top games in a playoff tournament fight to the death! If you’re new to the podcast or the genre this is a great place to start. With a wide range of categories from platformer rogues, to solo dev efforts, to squad management simulators, there’s something for everyone today. Thanks to all the listeners that voted as well! Our finalists include: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Cogmind Dead Cells Enter the Gungeon FTL: Faster Than Light Hand of Fate 2 Invisible Inc The Last Spell Luck Be A Landlord Monster Train Rimworld Streets of Rogue Who will take the ultimate prize of the GROGPOD Omegabowl??? ! The full tournament bracket with spoiled results can be found here Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:00 - Tournament plan, categories, and games 7:21 - Wildcard 1: Cogmind vs Luck Be A Landlord 21:10 - Wildcard 2: Streets of Rogue vs Invisible, Inc. 28:04 - Wildcard 3: Rimworld vs Hand of Fate 2 37:28 - Wildcard 4: The Last Spell vs Enter the Gungeon 45:36 - Division 1: FTL: Faster Than Light vs ??? 51:34 - Division 2: Binding of Isaac: Rebirth vs ??? 58:19 - Division 3: Dead Cells vs ??? 1:06:45 - Division 4: Monster Train vs ??? 1:14:50 - Semi-finals 1 1:21:54 - Semi-finals 2 1:27:58 - Grand finals 1:40:18 - Show wind down Next episode: Holiday special! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Heavy Action - Johnny Pearson Outro music: Lost Sun (battle) - Squishyboi

It’s the holiday season (backup singers: the holiday season) and the GROGPOD is coming ‘round for a special winter break episode! We’ve been asked by listeners for a while to do a developer interview so who better to bring on the program than amazing solo dev Huw Milward of previous episode Warsim: The Realm of Aslona! We kick off the first hour of the program with Huw, Will, and I chatting by the fireplace with our ‘nog (grog?) in hand about topics like inspiration, marketing strategy, and of course ChatGPT. Join us after the interview for some listener letters too! Find Warsim on Steam here Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 2:20 - Interview with Huw Millward, solo dev of Warsim: The Realm of Aslona 6:25 - Warsim dev history and future 10:45 - How to stay inspired and creative? 13:00 - How to build an indie game community? 16:39 - Windows CMD design and spaghetti code 18:18 - Kitfox remasters of Dwarf Fortress and Caves of Qud 21:00 - Ascii art aesthetics, SanctuaryRPG, WORD GAME 26:39 - Randomness vs proc gen 34:24 - Gamedev feature strategy 37:48 - Steam reviews and marketing strategy 49:13 - ChatGPT 55:40 - Gamedev persistence and community engagement 58:30 - Favorite games and gamedev pen pals 1:05:43 - Emails: How long to evaluate a roguelike game? 1:18:31 - Emails: Mystery Dungeon games Next episode: Season 2 starts with Rogue Tower! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Huw Warren - Porto Alegre Outro music: Warsim 8bit main theme

Happy New Pod! Or new game! Or new game+! For our second season kickoff we bring an army of orcs and goblins marching on your doom in Rogue Tower. What other podcast can you find deep dives on tower defense strategy in the form of thrilling spreadsheet functions and macros? The Excel fincancial modelling world cup may have just ended, but this game sure EXCELs at metal tunes, one-more-turn-itis, and laser-blasting pyramids. Does Will hold a world record for this game? Send in your armies of Boron-encased glass panes and find out for yourself! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:47 - game stats 3:13 - one sentence description 30:47 - deep lore 50:12 - rankings and final thoughts A link to Will’s crazy spreadsheet optimization tool can be found here And because I totally spaced on the similar games segment, if you’re a fan of Rogue Tower you should also check out: The Last Spell Dungeon of the Endless Tower Tactics: Liberation Bardbarian Bloons TD6 Roguelike mod Next episode: Wildermyth Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: George Shearing - I Didn’t Know What Time It Was Outro music: Andrew R. Mason - Orcs Attack!

Gather round children, it’s story time! This week we’re talking about the pop-up storybook RPG Wildermyth! We’re fighting gorgons with poison blood, turning into wolf people, and replacing arms with pirate hooks. You know, the normal things you always read about in kids books. It’s time to customize your coworkers, pick your pet, and save the lands from mechanical clockwork monsters! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:29 - game stats 2:23 - one sentence description 53:58 - rankings and final thoughts 1:01:10 - similar games Next episode: Nightmare Reaper Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Wayne Shorter - Wild Flower Outro music: Wildermyth Overworld

Reap and tear! This week we’re DOOMing it up with the BOOMer shooter rogue Nightmare Reaper. We all go a little mad sometimes, but what better way to relieve that stress with some out-of-left-field minigames? Keep an eye out for the trumpet skeleton, platforming puzzles, and bolwing ball-launching shotguns. Oh and did I mention there was a chainsaw grappling hook? One more time for the folks in the back: chainsaw. grappling. hook! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:17 - game stats 2:34 - one sentence description 10:25 - our story begins 1:21:29 - rankings and final thoughts 1:27:50 - similar games Next episode: Tales of Maj’Eyal Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blues Outro music: Andrew Hulshult - Lucid Mayhem

Happy TOMEntines day! This week we choo-choo choose to revisit the traditional roguelike-sphere with an oldie but a biggie. Tales of Maj’Eyal holds a special place in the hearts of old guards of tradrogues, continuing a legacy from an Angband spinoff in 1998. There’s a lot of love stemming from a vibrant community around TOME, if you can look past the ugly duckling presentation. It’s time to use our Chronomancy to turn back the clock, fight back the Spellblaze Scar, and try to charm the master of Dredfell Tower to watch some sappy romcoms with us. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:57 - game stats 4:31 - one sentence description 18:58 - our story begins 1:18:21 - rankings and final thoughts 1:26:38 - similar games Next episode: Against the Storm Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Thomas Marriott - The Tale of Debauchery Outro music: Celestial Aeon Project - Virtue Lost

Lousy Smarch weather! Come in from the cold and warm up with an episode on the recent hit citybuilder roguelite Against the Storm. We’ve got biscuits and pie, jerky, and a nice dry roof to keep your resolve high. There’s lots to talk about between lizard happiness, a Queen that no one has confirmed exists or not, and everyone’s favorite topic: supply chain logistics! Man it’s wet out there. Check me through will you? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:19 - game stats 3:30 - one sentence description 6:20 - » all devs go to heaven warning « 9:30 - our story begins 1:06:00 - rankings and final thoughts 1:16:48 - similar games Next episode: Balatro Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Chad Lawson Trio - If I Only Had A Brain Outro music: Mikołaj Kurpios - Forest Lights

This week we’re drawing a straight with the recent smash hit poker-puzzle deckbuilder Balatro! Join our four-of-a-kind hosts to talk about who will have the last laugh between random card draws and overtly complicated computer simulations. But no adventure is complete without joker hats and joker feet! Many jokes and many quips have passed behind our funny lips. By poking fun and making merry, our podcasts won’t be half as scary. So don’t be timid, don’t be nervous - Joker’s here, at your service! Aheuhheuuehehhah! Find a link to Will’s optimal hand play simulator here. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:18 - game stats 3:25 - one sentence description 13:20 - our story begins 1:17:15 - rankings and final thoughts Next episode: Into the Breach Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Lee Morgan - The Joker Outro music: LouisF - Balatro OST

We did it listeners, we saved the city! This week we revisit Subset Games with their hit mecha-tactics bug-squisher puzzle-roguelike: Into the Breach. Time travel shenanigans are at a maximum this time, as we push our recording date back a couple days to get everyone in here. Woody joins us once more to talk about balancing the destruction of apartment buildings with making sure the train gets to its destination on time. Jump mechs, swap mechs, science vesseles, weapons to surpass Metal Gear, bugs that think!?!? Into the Breach is a timeless gem of intense noodle-scratching thought, so drop in from the sky and help us save the corporate islands! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:39 - game stats 3:00 - one sentence description 14:21 - our story begins 1:15:49 - rankings and final thoughts 1:28:50 - similar games Next episode: Star of Providence Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Stanley Turrentine - June Bug Outro music: Ben Prunty - Into the Breach

Ghostly squeal! This week we’re descending the floors of an ancient facility filled with ghosts, mages, machines, talking cats, and bullets! So, so many bullets. What else would you expect from the bullet hell game that is Star of Providence? A charming, NES-inspired modern throwback, Star of Providence puts us to the test with harrowing boss fights, secret endings, and more guns than you can shake a sword that shoots bullets at! Team D-13 were kind enough to give a quick Q&A on how Star of Providence came about for us. Give it a look-see here! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify 1:52 - game stats 2:52 - one sentence description 19:20 - our story begins 1:07:47 - rankings and final thoughts 1:17:24 - similar games 1:20:25 - upgrade terminal podcast shoutout Next episode: Returnal Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Time-Lapse City - GoGo Penguin Outro music: Tonal Dissonance - garoslaw

Helios has been abandoned! This week we’re playing the multiple BAFTA Award-winning Triple-A roguelite shooter Returnal. We continue bullet hell/heck month with swarms of huge colorful orbs, energy swords, and as many tentacled Matrix-inspired laser squids as you can shake your noodly appendages at! Join us in our foray into the first actual big-budget rogue-game of the pod with a game that had been locked behind Playstation 5 exclusivity like a gigantic interlocking metal door. We were able to just barely eek through the podcaster-sized hole in the bottom, but can we beat the boss that is…uh…well the first boss even??? Aim assist to maximum! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:10 - game stats 4:53 - one sentence description 5:30 - all devs go to heaven warning (sort of) 16:22 - our story begins 55:00 - story spoilers discussion 1:04:05 - rankings and final thoughts 1:14:30 - similar games Next episode: Barony Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: McCoy Tyner - Search For Peace Outro music: Bobby Krlic - Hyperion

Chip chap chipchipchap! For our listener-requested episode this week, we are dungeon diving through Barony: the voxelized roguelike with split-screen co-op! Listen to our encounters with horrible gnomes, armies of human villagers, and Pac-Man ghost scouts. There’s a lot to unpack from a game with just one axis of movement, be it spellcrafting, hunger management, commanding your army of the Zap Brigade against the minotaur, and navigating halls of rolling boulders. Lucky for you there’s a robust tutorial system…if you survive! Drop in and listen or we’ll drop you into The Underworld! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:09 - game stats 3:00 - one sentence description 6:50 - our story begins 1:07:48 - rankings and final thoughts 1:15:18 - similar games 1:16:36 - listener email from the Wildermyth developers! Next episode: Lonestar Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Billy Cobham - Red Baron Outro music: Barony - Merchant’s Theme

Okay, 3…2…1… Let’s Jam! This week we are blasting off across the galaxy in pursuit of scum and villainy to collect some bounties for the space sheriff in Lonestar! With a unique spin on the roguelike deckbuilding genre, we debate over what is red versus orange as we power up our lasers in an epic showdown. Well, when we’re not using our vacation days of course! Build up your outlaw-hunting ship with tons of parts and upgrade those energy points to deal massive damage, or spend those points to defuse the spider mine the enemy has planted on you! Sit down in a space saloon for a nice relaxing card game, but be on the lookout for someone’s pet cat wearing a scouter level eyepiece! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:36 - game stats 2:43 - one sentence description 16:58 - our story begins 1:14:23 - rankings and final thoughts 1:22:00 - similar games Next episode: Vampire Survivors Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Sonny Rollins - Way Out West Outro music: Lonestar - Main Menu Theme

Adoro l’aglio! The time has come to suck the blood out one of the most popular roguelikes of all time: Vampire Survivors! A wild tale of a 5-dollar indie game that created its own sub-genre of bullet-heaven one-stick shooters, Vampire Survivors is nothing short of the gamedev dream. We celebrate bizarre Italian nomenclature with returning guest Woody and try to suss out what could possibly be the plot of a Vampire Survivors tv show. Grab some Tirajisú for dessert and strap in for a tasty treat of a game, but just keep an eye out for a gigantic Katamari of skeletons looking to run you over. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:42 - game stats 7:25 - one sentence description 18:33 - our story begins 1:06:35 - rankings and final thoughts 1:14:25 - similar games Next episode: Holocure: Save the Fans! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Giorgio Gaslini - Conservatorismo Puro Outro music: William Davies‎‎ - The Beginning, Filippo Vicarelli - It’s Raining Minotaurs

OwO it’s VTuber time! This week we grab out pet aligators and wrap them in a trench coat to investigate the wild world of Holocure - Save the Fans! We’re talking jazzy beats, explosions of color, shrimp simps, skeletons with baseball bats, and (you guessed it!) six-legged monsterific horrors that would be well at home in any HR Geiger film. To navigate this deep sector of internet a-pog-rypha, we’re joined by VTuber and friend of the show Daniru17! We’ll need all the help we can get unraveling the mysteries of the Shubangelion and where exactly that character upgrade tab in the shop is. Here’s where you can find Daniru17 on the interwebz! Twitch: daniru17 Youtube: daniru17 X/Twitter: Dani_daniru Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:02 - game stats 3:07 - one sentence description 25:12 - our story begins 1:07:20 - rankings and final thoughts 1:15:09 - similar games Next episode: Summer Music Fest and listener emails! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Emmet Cohen Trio ft. Patrick Bartley - After You’ve Gone Outro music: eufrik - Suspect

Adagio, listeners! This week is our summer special focusing on the wide diversity of music found in roguelike games! From the biggest budget orchestras, to the lowliest growling chants that 1bitdragon can muster, there’s a lot of love to be listened to when playing $5 indie games. We thank the listeners that wrote in with tons of suggestions for us to cover and we’ll definitely have to revisit this format in the future. We also have some listener correspondence to cover on topics from not liking games, randomness, and how long is TOO long for roguelikes at the end of the show. Enjoy and be sure the blast some GROGPOD on the beach for all your friends this summer weekend! A talking-free version of all the tracks featured today can be found on our youtube playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ShOmyMvd4gaydO4wbNhLsDIFbEsBTUO Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 00:00 - Vampire Survivors - Tides of the Foscari 6:39 - Crypt of the Necrodancer - Disco Descent (1-1) 11:19 - The Last Spell - Distant Memories 17:40 - Hades - The Unseen Ones 23:08 - DoomRL - Unholy Cathedral 27:09 - Returnal - Ascend the Spire 32:05 - Caves of Qud - Lazarus 37:23 - Rogue Tower - Orcs Attack 42:04 - Path of Achra - Main Theme 46:13 - Dwarf Fortress - Main Theme 51:07 - Risk of Rain 2 - The Rain Formerly Known as Purple 57:56 - Balatro - Main Theme 1:04:57 - Spelunky - Yeti Caves 1:08:47 - Brutal Orchestra - Feel the Rhythm (Music Man Theme) 1:15:01 - Enter the Gungeon - Enter the Gungeon Rap 1:19:58 - Rimworld - Waiting for the Sun 1:23:36 - Lonestar - Main Menu Theme 1:27:45 - Inscryption - Leshy’s Theme 1:33:00 - FTL: Faster Than Light - Last Stand 1:38:22 - Slay the Spire - The Heart 1:43:28 - Hades - The King and the Bull 1:48:26 - Listener emails (Not liking games) 1:52:13 - Listener emails (Star of Providence updates) 1:55:06 - Listener emails (Roguelike RNG) 2:00:35 - Listener emails (How long do YOU like your gameplay?) Next episode: DoomRL / Jupiter Hell Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone

Demonic presence at unsafe levels, podcast in effect! For our listener request week, we summon a granddaddy of the traditional roguelike pantheon: DoomRL - Doom: The Roguelike. But we couldn’t talk about a game with a 20+ year legacy without also crash landing on its gorgeous modern 3D remaster: Jupiter Hell. A traditional roguelike with…graphics? Voice acting? A b-b-budget? Come listen in on how to configure .ini files, assemble tactical rocket launchers, and learn how to be a sailor-mouthed hellish freight train on wheels. That’s how we do things downnnnntownnnnn. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:55 - DoomRL game stats 4:06 - One sentence description 20:15 - DoomRL story 35:43 - Jupiter Hell game stats 39:26 - Jupiter Hell story 1:23:35 - rankings and final thoughts 1:30:41 - similar games Next episode: Slice & Dice Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: The Geeky Guitarist - At Doom’s Gate (E1M1) Jazz Fusion Cover Outro music: Sonic Clang - E1M1

It is a good day to dice! This week we polish up some D6’s for the dungeon crawler Slice & Dice and throw them against all sorts of hideous monsters. We’re talking goblins, zombies, exploding skeletons, bloodthirsty fanatics, and so many more. In a game with modes on modes on modes, we try to navigate being cursed, blessed, and blursed while slaying dragons, succubi and undead samurai. Can our party of housecats and an over-levelled wizard save the day or will all of our dice be turned to stone and we get swarmed by imps? Ready to roll out! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:46 - game stats 3:27 - one sentence description 18:00 - our story begins (??) 1:02:39 - rankings and final thoughts 1:10:04 - similar games Next episode: dotAge Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Thelonius Monk - April in Paris Outro music: Louigi Verona - Ancient Books of Magic

Hey everyone look, an old man is talking! This week we feel the weather change via our bones as we play the turn-based colony sim roguelite dotAge, created by solo developer Michele Pirovano! Listen in as we battle omens on the horizon of time and try to swiftly shuttle our pips and pippins to ward off the impending evils that await the village. And remember: the gift quote must be met, as Santa won’t accept ANY excuse! Now where was I? Oh yeah! The import thing was: I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. You couldn’t find any white onions, because of the war. The only thing we had were those big yellow ones… Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:06 - game stats 3:02 - one sentence description 22:50 - our story begins 1:10:03 - rankings and final thoughts 1:27:58 - similar games Next episode: Slay the Spire Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Marian McPartland - I’m Old Fashioned Outro music: Luigi di Guida - Je Vivroie Liement

Caw caww!! It’s almost every episode that we reference Slay the Spire in some way, so what better time to finally cover it for the podcast than on our 50th episode spectacular?! Listen in as some Spire pros educate some Ascension 0 players on skills, powers, potions, relics and attacks. Every card is a block card if you try hard enough in this episode, but is Claw, in fact, Law? Who watches The Watcher? Why didn’t my Fairy Bottle trigger? With about 1,200 hours of gameplay under our Champion Belts, surely we can Slay these questions along with the beating of that hideous Heart! But will this game be the one that finally ascends the Spire that is our rankings list? You’ll have to tune in to our longest (and therefore highest quality) episode to date! Or just skip ahead to the rankings timestamp with those fancy Wing Boots of yours. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:24 - game stats 3:33 - one sentence description 12:37 - our story begins 23:32 - the characters and archetypes 47:20 - general gameplay 52:00 - ascension mode 1:03:00 - ideal win percentage 1:08:00 - Slay the Spire 2 wishlist 1:11:52 - Downfall 1:16:00 - music and art 1:18:50 - victory…? 1:26:46 - rankings and final thoughts 1:44:57 - similar games Next episode: Void Bastards Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Dave Brubeck - Take Five Outro music: Clark Aboud - Exordium, The Guardian Emerges

Oy, Gary! Is that you? Join us this week as we rehydrate some prisoners for derelict spaceship looting zaniness with Void Bastards! A 2.5D space shooter with more mutated freaks than the typical bus stop in Yoker, we try to appease the voice from the Stanley Parable with some bureaucratic busywork in the form of gun shooting. All the while fending off space pirates, space whales, and assessing if that gas station sandwich you just spent your credits on is or is not going to give you a parasite to start talking with a Glaswegian accent, aye? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:19 - game stats 2:33 - one sentence(?) description 10:45 - our story begins 1:03:48 - rankings and final thoughts 1:12:37 - similar games Next episode: Inscryption Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Chip Whickham - Space Walk Outro music: Ryan Roth - Walk the Plank!

(Play along for now) Ah yes Inscryption! A completely normal game of deckbuilding between you and a crazed lunatic in a desolate cabin. A winner of numerous game awards for … totally normal reasons … we celebrate the end of Spooktember with sacrificing squirrels for blood to feed our science experiment grizzly bears. (Hit the download button) You’re also looking at your podcast feed thinking “ah but this isn’t a roguelike game!” You might be right, but at least a solid third of this game is, and we felt it important and interesting enough to round up to being an honorary inclusion in the conversation. (Rate the podcast 5 stars) That being said, this is a completely spoiler heavy episode! So if by some happenstance you haven’t played it, we strongly recommend you do so before listening. Don’t fiddle with that shackle around your wrist, we have some Transcending to do! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 3:45 - game stats 5:50 - final warning for spoilers!!! 6:44 - one sentence description and honorary roguelike candidacy 15:19 - act 1: our story begins 34:28 - act 2 55:58 - act 3 and finale 1:24:11 - rankings and final thoughts 1:36:00 - similar games Next episode: Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Dan Wilson - Vessels of Wood and Earth Outro music: Jonah Senzel - Deathcard Cabin

Bam! It’s listener request week again and this time we’re blowing the dust out of our SNES cartridges to play Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer! A game with a long legacy of nostalgia and fanning the flames of the Mystery Dungeon franchise from a Dragon Quest spinoff, Shiren also comes in a dual-screen form for the Nintendo DS. So for our first console-exclusive we talk about the 1990s landscape of traditional roguelikes, pokemon mystery dungeon games, dirty cheating by route of save states, and really celebrate the first official foray into the Mystery Dungeon franchise for the podcast. That little monster ringing the bell sound you hear is the summoning for us to cover some more of these games in the future for sure! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:02 - game stats 4:38 - one sentence description 18:54 - our story begins 30:09 - dungeon clearing strategy 41:37 - metaprogression 45:00 - ending and late game, NPCs 1:00:28 - pokemon mystery dungeon 1:05:42 - item strategy 1:11:55 - Fay’s puzzle dungeon 1:18:20 - Shiren 6 1:28:04 - rankings and final thoughts 1:46:30 - similar games Next episode: Terminus: Zombie Survivors Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Joanne Brackeen - Mountain Flight Outro music: Koichi Sugiyama - Canyon Hamlet

The dead walk! It’s after midnight and something evil’s attacking your town in Terminus: Zombie Survivors. A turn-based, grid-based, permadeath RPG with open-world survival crafting, Terminus turns the spook factor up for this ghoulish episode with Walkers galore. Barracade that door, cover the windows with some bloody rags and cozy up in a corner of a pharmacy with your favorite roguelike podcast! And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver! For no mere mortal can resists, the evil of the Terminus! (Vincent Price laughter) Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:29 - game stats 2:40 - one sentence description 9:00 - our story begins 1:21:04 - rankings and final thoughts 1:33:55 - similar games 1:35:00 - pokemon smash or pass stream with previous guest Daniru17 Next episode: Heat Signature Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Artemis - Lights Away From Home Outro music: Terminus in-game bgm

Glitch or Treat! On the final day of Space Halloween we dive deep into an acidy nebula of warring factions in dire need of some liberation. The Foundry, The Glitchers, Offworld Security, and Sovereign are vying for control, but they didn’t account for one thing: you. Enter Heat Signature: the tense, tactical, real-time-with-pause puzzle shooter leveraging the use of teleporters, time-slowing devices, bullet-reflecting shields, and rusty pipe wrenches. Join us as we make embark on Mistake-level missions, crash some space ships (for liberation purposes that is) and stand in awe of the real legends exacting their revenge with only 10 minutes to live! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:16 - game stats 3:29 - one sentence description 17:39 - our story begins 1:01:51 - ending spoilers 1:14:52 - rankings and final thoughts 1:21:51 - similar games Next episode: World of Horror Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Horace Silver - Liberated Brother Outro music: John Halpart - Quantum Immortality

Clap! Bow! Clap! Clap! Bow! Not even 6 days of power outage can stop this week’s attempt at exorcising demons of the world, as we visit fictional 198X Japan’s World of Horror. We explore a manga-style 1-bit Shiokawa, where a spooky lighthouse is causing something strage in the neighborhood. Evil Eldritch gods are awakening to turn our shower water into black goo, the townsfolk into bloodthirsty cultists, and even our apartment neighbors against us! Together, we can help solve the mysteries of “Spine-Chilling Story of School Scissors”, “Freaky Feature of Found Footage”, and many other awesomely alliterative manga mystery thrillers. There’s very vew problems a crowbar and kicking can’t solve! Especially when they’re sourced from a happy Shiba Inu dog vendor. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:09 - game stats 3:35 - one sentence description 14:15 - our story begins 1:14:18 - rankings and final thoughts 1:25:39 - similar games Next episode: Risk of Rain 2 Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers - Slippin’ Into Darkness Outro music: World of Horror OST - School Combat

Risk of Rain returns and in threeeee deeeeee! One of the most popular rogue games ever closes out season 2 of our podcast this year by dropping into a chaotic swarm of low-poly, monster-infested lands backed by screaming synth guitar sounds. From multiplayer near-victories, to solo-play over confidence, Risk of Rain 2 is a Bundle of Fireworks to send us off into the holiday season for some Bison Steaks and Energy Drinks. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:42 - game stats 3:35 - one sentence description 35:24 - our story begins 1:14:20 - rankings and final thoughts 1:22:14 - similar games As discussed in the outro, Scott has recorded a bunch of tutorial videos with Caves of Qud youtuber BigSimple which you can find here! Stay tuned for our coverage on it next season! Next episode: Omegabowl 2: The 2024 GROGPOD Roguelike Playoffs Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Seatbelts - Tank! Outro music: Chris Christodoulou - …con lentitud poderosa

Season 2 has come to an end with an impressive slate of top-tier rogue games! If you’ve never listened to the show before, these recap episodes are a great place to start. This year we see how well our new #1 overall rated game of Slay the Spire will hold off contenders like Vampire Survivors and Balatro. We revisit some oldies and goodies with games spanning releases all the way back to 2003! We have some great listener comments sprinkled throughout, including some of the devs from games that we’ve covered. So go get a corndog (grogdog?), a #1 fan foam finger or two, and strap in for our longest, and therefore best podcast episode to date. Our finalists include: Balatro DoomRL Heat Signature Into the Breach Inscryption Jupiter Hell Risk of Rain 2 Slay the Spire Slice & Dice Star of Providence Vampire Survivors World of Horror Who will take the ultimate prize of the GROGPOD Omegabowl??? ! The full tournament bracket with spoiled results can be found here Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:54 - Tournament plan, categories, and games 7:04 - Wildcard 1: Risk of Rain 2 vs Heat Signature 13:42 - Wildcard 2: Slice & Dice vs Star of Providence 23:48 - Wildcard 3: Balatro vs DoomRL 30:06 - Wildcard 4: Inscryption vs World of Horror 38:57 - Division 1: Slay the Spire vs ??? 44:40 - Division 2: Vampire Survivors vs ??? 56:20 - Division 3: Jupiter Hell vs ??? 1:03:44 - Division 4: Into the Breach vs ??? 1:14:40 - Semi-finals 1 — possibly the REAL omegabowl finals here — 1:35:32 - Semi-finals 2 1:43:10 - Grand finals 1:58:24 - Show wind down Next episode: Roguelike developer interviews from PAX West 2024! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Scott Schreer - NFL Fox Outro music: Clark Aboud - Battle with the Champ

The winter special episode is here! This week we turn back the clock 3 months to a number of interviews Scott did with developers and panelists at PAX West here in Seattle. A ton of fun, he got to talk to a lot of really cool and fun people who entertained my nonsense questions. With so many great games played and talked about, we’re already penciling out plans for next year’s possibilities! Check the timestamps below for interviews with friends of all sorts and their games and studios. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 4:18 - Live on the streets! 9:11 - Vampire Survivors tournament champion interview with Alan 14:58 - Slay the Spire board game playtest with Nathan and Erin 22:17 - Barony with Josiah Colborn from Turning Wheel Games 33:56 - “What is a rogue-like?” with Jenna Stoeber and Anica Cihla, see their “What Defines A Soulslike?” panel VOD here 41:30 - Rogue Climber with Christian and Eric from Imaginary Game Studios 46:04 - AO: Containment Breach with Jules aka Prismatix- 49:52 - Ultra Mega Cats 54:36 - Let’s Build a Dungeon with James Barnard from Springloaded 1:02:07 - Rogue Waters with Mateusz Pilski from Ice Code Games 1:07:48 - “What is a game publisher?” with Matthew Palacio from Hooded Horse Games 1:14:24 - ctrl.alt.DEAL with Gwen from Only By Midnight Ltd. 1:17:37 - Show wind down Next episode: Season 3 kicks off with Hades! Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro/outro music: Vince Guaraldi Trio - O Tannenbaum

Season 3 is here and we’re turning up the heat levels with the infernal hack-n-slash / visual novel / dating sim Hades! The crown jewel of indie darling developer Supergiant Games, we follow Prince Zagreus and his journey to fight out of the Greek Underworld with the aid all your favorite characters from Greek mythos including a wise-cracking skeleton, a timid snake head housekeeper, an ever-happy smiling boulder, a zombie boat man, among many others! Oh and I suppose there are Olympian gods in there too, each one more ripped and romance-worthy than the last. Maybe you can escape the fires of Asphodel, but what about your fiery passions for your co-workers? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 1:34 - game stats 3:03 - one sentence description 23:18 - our story begins and spoiler alert warning 1:32:28 - rankings and final thoughts 1:42:43 - similar games Next episode: Rift Wizard Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - When Your Lover Has Gone Outro music: Darren Korb - Out of Tartarus

Welcome back Wizard, to the ruins of the universe! This week we pick up the coffeebreak hit of the traditional roguelike space Rift Wizard: a solo-dev effort by Dylan White, in which we skitter about pondering orbs of memory and battling all sorts of spritely monsters and mages. Armed with a spellbook a mile long and wild passive skills to boot, we will finally exact our revenge on the evil red wizard Mordred for waking us up from our nap. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:46 - game stats 3:48 - one sentence description 31:14 - our story begins and spoiler alert warning 1:12:04 - rankings and final thoughts 1:21:09 - similar games Scott’s source code dump of all the Rift Wizard spells and skills google sheet can be found here. Next episode: Remnant from the Ashes Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Jerry Granelli - I Put a Spell on You Outro music: K. Hoops - Rift Wizard main menu theme

This week in “wait, that’s not a roguelike!” we tackle the Souls-like shooter Remnant: From the Ashes! A lot of high-budget games that aren’t rogue-first have been coming out with rogue modes and Remnant is no exception with it’s DLC-based mode: Survival. Join us to complain about getting bodied by bosses, watching out for archers, and trying to figure out just how much chocolate you need in a cake before you call it a chocolate cake. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music 2:18 - game stats 3:54 - one sentence description 13:29 - our story begins 1:07:55 - community correspondence 1:16:04 - rankings and final thoughts 1:25:25 - similar games Next episode: Azure Dreams Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Kenny Dorham - I Had The Craziest Dream Outro music: Remnant OST - Black Wolf and Bloodshed