Aftermath Hours

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Gita bid farewell to the Aftermath Twitch channel—at least, in terms of using it to record the podcast—and turn their sights toward a pre-recorded, more-thoroughly-edited future (coming soon!). We also discuss Valve’s decision to massively increase the Steam Deck’s price thanks to “global logistical challenges” (read: AI and an incredibly stupid war) and how what seems to be the end of affordable consumer hardware might impact the games industry five or ten years down the line. Then we talk about the latest Boots Riley movie, I Love Boosters, and how intensely good it is by virtue of embracing a singular vision—the kind film industry outsiders rarely get the opportunity to put on screen these days. After that, we dive into the weeds of what it means to play and enjoy a game—in this case, Zero Parades: For Dead Spies—despite thorny origins. Lastly, Gita and Nathan debate the merits of two popular bands, Paramore and Sleep Token, even though both of their opinions are wrong.

Credits
- Hosts: Chris Person, Gita Jackson, and Luke Plunkett
- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude
- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show
Aftermath 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 Jordan Hoffstetter of the incredibly-named Tran Girlismo podcast, a show about car culture and living during the decline of empire. We use Forza Horizon 6, the latest in Microsoft’s long-running open-world racing series, as a jumping off point to discuss Forza, Gran Turismo, Japan, irritating story elements in racing games, and the F1 series’ surprisingly great “Breaking Point” career mode. Then we move on to some sobering news: Destiny 2 is ceasing operations as a live-service game and being put on life support. It’s the end of an era in multiple senses. Finally, Luke tells us about his still-ongoing 20-year battle with the final boss of Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and we discover the magic of Applerankings.com.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson and Luke Plunkett
- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude
- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show
Aftermath 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 pod, Luke, Gita and Chris got together to talk about the game that people inexplicably cannot stop talking about: Mixtape. We talk about the way that it's portrayal of teen nostalgia hits, and more frequently, doesn't hit, as well as the bizarre series of conversations that are occurring about this game on social media. Then, Chris and Gita chat about the orb-tastic Saros, a game for total sickos that these two sickos are truly enjoying.

Credits
- Hosts: Chris Person, Gita Jackson, and Luke Plunkett
- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude
- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show
Aftermath 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 is outnumbered by Australians when Alanah Pearce—games writer, voice actor, YouTuber, and filmmaker extraordinaire—joins the show (and also Luke is there). We discuss Alanah’s new production company, Charred Pictures, and its goal of involving indie developers in the process of adapting games into movies and TV shows. We also talk about the overall state of video game adaptations and the glut of tales that have already been told. Then we dig into the controversial (at least, in Hollywood) element of Alanah’s operation: She’s working with YouTubers where possible to secure funding, which she believes makes perfect sense when they’re fans of the games being adapted. What, in this day and age of content creators being everywhere, still causes film execs to balk at the idea? After that, we move on to an arguably even more consequential discussion: Star Fox looks fucked up now. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing? Lastly, we throw up our hands at Xbox’s inconsistent (to say the least) approach to AI and then come to the only remaining logical conclusion: Aftermath should be put in charge of Xbox.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and special guest Alanah Pearce
- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude
- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show
Aftermath 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, Chris, and Luke have a merry old time discussing cheery news from a normal week. For example: A video game CEO casually said the quiet part out loud by opining during a routine interview that “We've been a little bit too romantic about the idea that we should have employees and give people long-term job security,” suggesting that it’s time to instead rely heavily on a merry-go-round of beleaguered contractors. And this CEO is also the head of the head of the UK trade body for the games industry. Great! We also discuss Saudi Arabia’s divestment from LIV Golf, the first of many dominoes apparently to fall as its soft-power-hungry Public Investment Fund runs low on money. Is the games industry next? According to early reports, it sounds like at least some part of it is! Lastly, we talk about something that’s actually cool—the new Steam controller, which Chris is loving—before envisioning the darkest possible special interest: Mario Party historian.

Credits
- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Luke Plunkett
- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude
- Subscribe to Aftermath!

About The Show
Aftermath 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.