Light Gaming

Jerome and Alex pass through the Procession to Cavalry and stab a bunch of paintings in the process, surely those paintings don't contain any value whatsoever. Then, after the ad break, the much-portented FULL SPOILER discussion of Blue Prince!

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Your Hosts of Light Gaming are back with a two-for-one special to make up for the break, sort of! They talk about the wildly different Koira and Cook, Serve Delicious and come up with interesting ways in which the two are unexpectedly connected (Editor's note: this is a lie). After the ad break, the monthly Rants and Raves segment returns, what deathly serious topics will the Hosts of Light Gaming get too deep into THIS time? Tune in and find out!

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We, alongside almost every other gaming podcast, played Dogubomb's new masterpiece: Blue Prince! Join us as we vaguely, in a very spoiler-free manner describe our impressions of the game, give a brief synopsis of the mechanics and talk about what really makes this game tick our little maze-loving boxes.

After the ad break, we dive into a really fun quiz segment that isn't at all a form of psychological torture that Jerome inflicts upon Alex on a regular basis.

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We're really sorry about that, but our points about 2021's light adventure game Sable still stand. Then, FFXIV: Shadowbringers' Secondary Antagonist Judge Vauthry makes a grand return to pass his brand of balustrade judgment on REDDIT POSTS!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Cover Art by Alex Hambrock and Kat Hambrock

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsiss

Hekki Grace, gamers of light! Jerome and Alex wax poetic and skip through time as they discuss Fellow Traveler's 2024 visual novel 1000xResist! Then, for our 100th episode (total) special, we check out some new posts on our recurring reader mail segment: the Sharlayan Forum! Thank you so much for hanging out with us 100 times!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Cover Art by Alex Hambrock and Kat Hambrock

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We inherit a plant shop in the middle of Gloomy-gloomsville, USA (Or maybe UK?), and hand people a bunch of wild and wacky potted plants to cure their various ailments, allergies and alimonies in Strange Horticulture! Stay tuned after the ad break for a chill, but heated conversation of of Raves and Rants!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Cover Art by Alex Hambrock and Kat Hambrock

The Hosts of Light make good on their March Madness pick for Nancy Drew games and explore a modern take on an ancient myth in Nancy Drew: Labyrinth of Lies! Then, stay tuned as Jerome and Alex do their best to replicate some iconic video game voice lines in the segment "How Did She Say It!?"

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Cover Art by Alex Hambrock and Kat Hambrock<...

Dive into the colorful world of Neva as the Hosts of Light traverse the brilliantly painted and sounscaped scenes of Neva, the action platformer developed by Nomada studios that won 2024's Games for Impact award at the annual GOTYAs! What did Alex think about the action platforming content? Does Jerome maybe need to get medically evaluated? Tune in and find out! Plus, enjoy a super special secret Light Gaming take on March Madness as they use a Madness bracket to make an extremely important decision!!

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This Obra-Dinn inspired mystery puzzle game is right up our alley. It's got everything- a compelling story, great reading, sick jazz vibes, corkboards, and nostalgic 90s internet fansites! We've also been spending with with Monster Hunter and Balatro, so we thought it'd be a great time to bring back our Side Quests!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome

BarbatsisCover Art by Alex Hambrock and Kat Hambrock

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The Buds revisit last year's plant based metroidvania- Ultros! They had a psychedelic time looping throughout the alien environments, learning more and more about the world as they connect every save point with bees. Then, they enjoy a nice time in the great outdoors with a national park quiz segment: His Park Materials!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Cover Art by Alex Hambrock and Kat Hambrock

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Howdy, pardners of light! It's Nancy Drew week here on Light Gaming and we've got a classic ol' rootin' tootin' hollerootin' heck of a time for y'all as we dodge snakes, scorpions, bank robbers and angry chickens in Nancy Drew: the Secret of Shadow Ranch! Stay tuned for the back half when Jerome gives Alex yet another impossible guessing game for his Pokemon: Shield edition of "A Wild Pokemon by Any Other Name!"

Jerome and Alex give their spoiler-free opinions on the long awaited tabletop inspired narrative RPG Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector! Where does this game work, and where does this game fall apart? Who are their favorite crew members? Answers to these and many more questions lie within! In the second half, the Hosts of Light bring back an old friend to give their Judgment on genuinely for-real not-made-up viewer questions: it's the return of Judge Vauthry!

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What's up, Gamers of Light!? Welcome to Light Gaming! We've launched a rebrand where we're going to focus on the kinds of games that made our favorite episodes last year: easily digestible experiences that we could talk about in their entirety. We're gonna cover indie games, retro games, and maybe even some board or card games, so long as it's just a bit of Light Gaming!

In today's episode, Jerome and Alex are back from break with a new look and a whole lot of games to talk about. Tune in to find out what they thought...

It's the Second Annual Heavens-Awards! Who will take home the prestigious awards for Best Outfit, Cutest Character, Best Beard (Cover wife), and The Warrior of Light "Confused Head Tilt" Emote Award for Most Deranged Segment? What will be the Buds Best Game? Acceptance speeches, dramatic moments and impromptu advertisements await you in this year's Heavens-Awards!

Thank you all for listening, we'll see you again in February! Much love!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis<...

With DeSIMber come and gone (two weeks go by pretty fast), the Buds cap off the month discussing the Sims 4! After an uncharacteristic discussion about sleep aids and science, they discuss their past, present, and hopeful futures with the franchise. How many times has Alex burnt his house down? Where's the weirdest place Jerome made Woo-hoo? Tune in to find out*!

*neither of these questions are answered during the course of this podcast.

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Alex takes Jerome on a nostalgia trip to his beloved back yard RTS-like sim game, the 1991 Maxis Classic Sim Ant! How many times did they get stomped, sliced, eaten and conquered before finally making it into the kitchen and ousting the evil Human Man and his animal cohorts? Plus, Jerome helps Alex with his acting chops in the hot new improv segment: Down for MaintenANTS!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

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The Buds put Goldvember to a close with a recap of all their chosen Golden games!

Nancy Drew: The Shattered Medallion spoilers start ~16:00

Rise of the Golden Idol spoilers start: 21:25

End of spoilers: 34:47

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

It's here! The Rise of the Golden Idol is out and the Buds are having an eldritch blast playing it. What is it about these games they find so captivating? The intrigue? The wit? Maybe the grotesque, explicit sex scenes? Tune in and find out! Also, surprise! The Buds weren't SUPER up for sailing the high seas this months, so they pivoted to something a little more current and... tangentially related to the theme for the second half. It's a welcome addition to GOLDVEMBER to be sure!

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Goldvember continues as the Buds discuss their thoughts as they revisited the classic GBA RPG, Golden Sun! Find out what they loved about the game, which classes they were running, and whether or not they think Isaac's relationship with his mother is a healthy one. The title might be a hint! Plus, the Buds continued exploring the Sea of Thieves, this time diving into the Monkey Island crossover content! Join us as we continue the hunt for GOLD!

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The buds play the Nancy Drew game with the most outrageous premise yet: Nancy Drew: the Shattered Medallion! Beyond Patrick's idiotic stoicism, Bess's complete ineptitude and Sonny's mountain of icks, the Buds have to solve the greatest mystery of all: who thought any of this was a good idea?

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds finish their discussion on all things Diablo IV with their thoughts on the new expansion: Vessel of Hatred! What awaits our Boneheads of Light in the deep, harsh jungles of Nahantu? Do the systemic changes help or hurt the game? Is Mephisto still in Jerome's ideal Eiffel Tower? At least two of these three questions will definitely be answered on this week's Stormbuds!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

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Have YOU noticed that the previous two weeks notated Diablo IV/4 inconsistently? Well, I didn't, but now I'm leaning into it! Today the Buds talk about their time with skull-dodgin, knife-throwin arcade shooter Devil Daggers, and finish off the story recap and reaction to the base game of Diablo IV!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds take on the Department of Death and travel all across the Eighth Layer of Hell in wacky, kooky point and click adventure The Adventures of Grim Fandango! Plus, the continuation of the story in Diablo IV with coverage of acts 3 and 4 takes our Wanderer Buds into the desert, where they run into familiar faces both old and new, as well as confront one of the Lesser Evils!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

The buds play some action packed spooky games to kick of STORMBONES!!!! They make their way through some douchebag bats and asshole skeletons to confront dracula in Super Castlevania IV, then they make their way through douchebag demons and asshole goatmen to confront Vhenard and Astaroth in Diablo IV!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

What a massive episode! The Buds chat about discs 3 and 4 of FFVIII, dip into the Sharlayan Forum and announce the theme and games of October! What will happen with our unconscious GF? Why are we in space? Is THAT what time looks like!? All these questions answered and A WHOLE LOT MORE within!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds are back after a stressful week of travelling and illness to talk all about the... weird, but enjoyable monster sandwich game called Pokemon Scarlet/Violet! We're not here to TELL you it has disgraceful performance issues, but we are asking the question: Does it have disgraceful performance issues? After that, we learn more about the story of The Six Angsty Teens in Final Fantasy VIII, from the prison break up until we attempt to assassinate the sorceress again in the clash of the gardens! Tune in to hear which instruments Alex picked for his performance!

<...

Jerome is out sick this week and unable to record, so Alex took it upon himself to compare and contrast the book and game versions of Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy! We'll be back next week with Pokemon: Scarlet/Violet and more Final Fantasy VIII!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds discuss a brief historical overview of martial law in Taiwan in order to be able to begin describing sidescrolling horror game Detention! Then, the weird fever dream continues in the tale of FF8 where Laguna throws his friends off a cliff, Squall opens up about his boundaries with grammar, and the party is completed when Ivrine Kinneas shows up and starts planning his future with all the ladies. Thanks for listening and reading this far!!

CW: Talk of violence in schools

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The Buds dive into the new school year by talking about how Two Point Campus came to be and how they enjoyed their time with it! Then, they begin their senior year of mercenary academy Balamb Garden in Final Fantasy 8, talking about junctioning, hot dogs, social anxiety, angst, and most importantly, Triple Triad!

The Buds escape from Evermore, but not before having to deal with the dastardly butler Carltron and navigate the space station maze with their trusty toaster-dog! Plus, a conversation on what makes this game of all games so important alongside the reveal of September's theme! Stick around to see what games the Buds are gonna cover next month!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

Alex is a Nancy Drew Veteran and Jerome is a total newb! Hm, that sounds familiar. Join the Buds as they talk about Nancy Drew: the Silent Spy and hopefully solve the mystery revolving Cathedral, Revenant and Nancy's Mom! Plus, the discussion of Secret of Evermore continues, with the Buds diving into the spotless castles and deep jungle forests of Gothica!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome...

The Buds have a quick chat about the Whispered World (very quietly), and catch up on some long overdue side quests! Then they resume their journey into Secret of Evermore for part 2 of their month-long discussion. What wacky voices will we have to endure for the sake of a loosely tied together theme? Tune in and find out!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds kick off ASMR August with a relaxing deductive murder mystery game where the witnesses and perpetrators are all single-minded and obtuse AI chatbots. The sound of the fires crackling as the mansion burns down every single time! Then, they journey into Evermore to try and discover its Secret, where they talk about their first impressions of the game, an overall summary of the mechanics and the first act- Prehistoria! Tune in to see what the Buds think about both of these extremely relevant games!

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The Buds give their thoughts on the finale of FFXIV: Dawntrail! Of course there are full spoilers within. They also go over some thoughts and opinions of some of the listeners in the Sharlayan Forum, and plot out the games for the month of August! What completely regular, not weird at all theme will the next month's games follow? Tune in to find out!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

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The Buds get chummy with Dave, Bancho and the gang and explore the depths of the Deep Blue Hole as they talk about Mintrocket's "Indie" hit Dave the Diver! Afterward, they resume their discussion of FFXIV: Dawntrail, talking about chapters 4 and 5 of the latest expansion. What do the buds think about the invasion and subsequent tour of Alexandria? Tune in to find out!

FFXIV: Dawntrial discussion starts ~27:50

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

The buds journey up to the top of Hawk Peak to find cell phone reception and get distracted by trinkets and shells along the way. Plus, chapters 2 and 3 of our Dawntrail discussion. Find out what the Buds thought about Yak'tel, the mamool ja and the entrance to the golden city!

Dawntrail discussion starts around 21:00

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds start their Summer Vacation month by taking a trip to the Isle of Bugsnax, and they have a wildly different experience between the two of them! After that, they start their month-long coverage of FFXIV: Dawntrail by talking about their thoughts of the first chapter!

Dawntrail talk starts ~25:35

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds finish off Tataru Taru and Co. Ltd. Inc sponsored pride month with a trip to Haven Springs, CO. They chat with some of the locals, get a job at the bar and use a supernatural ability to observe and feel emotions to manipulate normies into doing their bidding. Afterward, they make a bet with their predictions for FFXIV: Dawntrail!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome...

The Buds revisit Eorzea and go through a bunch of comedy capers, mech fights and touching moments as they complete and discuss the Tataru's Grand Endeavor questline! Then, a bit early, the Buds chart a course for July and plot out the games they'll be playing alongside FFXIV: Dawntrail!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis

Sound and Editing by Jerome Barbatsis

The Buds talk about the very, very queer visual-novel-dating-sim-deckbuilder-roguelike I Was a Teenage Exocolonist! They take another trip to the Spoils Collector for a full spoiler deep dive into their thoughts about how the game ends, and discuss the differences in their gameplay. Who did they crush on? Who lives and who dies? Who is she, and why does she have her own song? Tune in and find out!

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Produced by Alex Hambrock and Jerome Barbatsis