The Cane and Rinse videogame podcast

The alluring combo of super-powered, hyper-skilled parkouring pilot and giant machine of heavily-armed destruction. Following the heavily multiplayer and Xbox-centric original, Respawn kicked on with a sequel that offered a focused single-player campaign - and an appearance on PlayStation. Leon, Chris O'Regan and Tom - along with contributions from the listenership - reacquaint themselves with Jack and BT's biomechanical bromance.

Remember a time when the most lavishly produced videogames were full motion video comedy adventure games? Chris Worthington, Brian, Chris O’Regan and James do! In this issue they have a long look at Access Software's cult hit, Under A Killing Moon, to find out whether all that investment would guarantee a game that still shines 30 years later.

This week, Ryan, Leah and Tony take a road trip to the town of Haven Springs, Colorado for a look at 2021's Life Is Strange: True Colors. From foosball matches to mineshaft crashes, the crew digs into the emotional depths of this supernatural adventure.

Sam Barlow's interactive cinematic puzzle IMMORTALITY gets dissected in this issue of the Cane and Rinse podcast. Leon, Ryan, Tom and community contributors scrub through the celluloid of three unreleased movies to trace Marissa Marcel's fate and the mysteries beneath.

The descendant of Erdrick has arrived. Brian, Chris Worthington, Jon and Leah examine the first entry in the legendary Dragon Quest series. Join them as they discuss the history and impact of the JRPG that birthed an entire genre.

Leon chats with Andrew Elmore about his video deep dive into Namco's long-running Museum series of retro re-releases, from mid-90s PlayStation origins through the generations to more recent standalone plug 'n' play devices and beyond. From Gee Bee to Tank Force via every Pac-Man and Galaxian inbetween, it's a lot of fun. Enjoy!

Vanillaware's mission to make a game in each genre continues with tactical RPG Unicorn Overlord. Leon, Chris O'Regan, Leah and Michiel (whose pick this was for the podcast), embroil themselves in the quest to liberate another Europesque land from the tyranny of a possessed expansionist despot. As usual - along with input from the listeners - we get into the audio-visual presentation, the nitty gritty of interface and the myriad strategic options afforded by this systems-rich epic fantasy.

It's rare for us to review a 10 year-old game that's still in active development, but here we are. Much has already been said about the majestic comeback story that is No Man's Sky - and we do touch upon that here - but we mainly wanted to discuss what we did and didn't enjoy about playing the game in its 2026 form. Leon, James, Rich and Patreon posters do just that, telling tales of adventure in this practically infinite possibility space.

As the industry (and us) gets older, the anniversaries get larger. Konami's famous Frogger celebrates its 45th birthday, so we celebrate with the hydrophobic hopper. Leon, Brian, Jesse and Sean - along with some arcade memories from the community - discuss the apocryphal legend of this simple single-screen action game, try to understand why it endures, and even the mating habits of amphibians - in this especially silly podcast.

They see me rollin'. Ryan, Leah, and more Chrises than you may expect venture back to the PSP oddity LocoRoco and the pastel paradises it inspired. The crew discusses the music, soft-body physics, and tilt controls as the LocoRoco series is taken for a spin.

Though Ron Gilbert had moved on, LucasArts' Grossman, Schaefer and co were in full point and click flow by 1993. In this podcast we return to the Maniac Mansion for beloved follow-up, Day of the Tentacle. Leon, Brian, Jesse, Ryan and Patreon posters get lost in lavatorial time-loops, untangling the puzzles that worked for them and those that didn't, as well as appraising the Looney Tunes-inspired art, humour and audio.

When Developing Alien: Fireteam Elite, Coldiron Studios were tasked with rehabilitating Aliens after the poorly received Aliens: Colonial Marines in 2013. Could a studio known for MMOs replicate the success of 2014’s Alien Isolation by creating a Destiny inspired horde shooter? Join host Rich and panel Brian, Jon and Leah as they work through the scattered reception of Alien and Aliens games, and decide whether Aliens: Fireteam Elite effectively captures the intensity of James Cameron’s 1986 movie.

As Capcom gears up to soft reboot dormant franchise Onimusha, we look back a quarter of a century to its origins, 2001's Onimusha: Warlords. Leon, Chris Worthington, James and Michiel suck Genma souls like it's Luigi's haunted hotel in this tricky, Spenceresque Sengoku Mansion. We also talk about the game's interface, systems, challenge and - with contributions from the listeners - some of the changes made to both the Xbox version and the more recent remaster.

Sin & Punishment skipped the GameCube generation, but came bouncing back after almost a decade on Wii. Leon, Chris O'Regan and Sean grapple with Isa and Kachi across eight intense stages of on-rails, danmaku-style shmup madness from the crazy geniuses at Treasure. With input from the listenership, we talk technical and artistic achievements, as well as taking aim at the game's demanding yet satisfying mechanics.

“Don’t make me embarrass myself further.” Dracula was dead and not loving it so, as per usual, the evil powers that be attempt to resurrect […]

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With the Dreamcast on its last legs, a cohort from Sonic Team once again decamped to the USA to create the SEGA mascot's magnum opus, Sonic Adventure 2.

Leon, Dan, Darren and Tony - as well as a pile of correspondence from the listening community - grind up against Sonic and pals' second full 3D outing.

A triumphant swansong for the company's final console, or... not?

The streets of Kamurocho are no stranger to violence but things have gotten a bit out of hand. Brian, Leah, Michiel and Sean explore the eerily familiar zombie filled landscape in Yakuza: Dead Souls. Does this Kiryu helmed spinoff have any bite, or does it leave them infected with misery? Listen in to find out.

Capcom mashed up two of its hit fighting franchises with chibi cuteness and block-slotting arcade action in 1996 with the release of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (or X). Leon, Leah and returning guest Ben Cartlidge of One Credit Classics - along with input from the Cane and Rinse listeners - discover the joy of interlocking coloured gems and the resulting cacophony of crashing that ensues.

Another celebrated mid-90s arcade classic celebrates its 30th anniversary, and this time it's run 'n gun fun with SNK's original Metal Slug (SUPER VEHICLE 001). Leon, Chris Worthington, Michiel and returning guest Ben 'One Credit Classics' Cartlidge go over the top with Nazca's sensational 3D sprite-work and - along with contributions from the community and listenership - dig into the usual minutiae, and explore the possibility of the fabled 1CC or even no-death clear.

There's been a murder in the neo-city of Rinsetropolis, and it's up to Ryan, Jesse, and Rich to learn the systems that underpin the highly-emergent detective sim Shadows of Doubt before it's too late. Will our gumshoes crack the case of the proc-gen killer, or will they get swept away into the shadows?

A year on from our original Panzer Dragoon show, the same panel returns for the sequel (or rather, prequel). Leon, Chris O'Regan, Chris Worthington and Michiel - along with input from the listeners via our Patreon page - swoop into the back story, gameplay revisions and spectacular technical enhancement of this second entry into the Panzer Dragoon saga, 30 years on from its release, in our Panzer Dragoon II Zwei podcast.

Wake up, Sleeper. Four years and thousands of dice rolls ago, Jump Over the Age trapped James, Jon, Leah and guest Sean Bell on the derelict space station Erlin’s Eye. With mere hours left until their stabiliser and food run out, the crew reminisce on paths not taken and friends made and lost along the way in Citizen Sleeper.

“If you’re hearing this, you are stuck here too.” Housemarque’s biggest project to date launched soon after the PS5 and was met with critical enthusiasm as well […]

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“Lucas wanted to cry”  Released in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance, Mother 3 brought Shigesato Itoi’s eccentric RPG trilogy to a close. After a […]

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“REVENGE!” With a quick turnaround, Factor 5 rapidly doubled down on their Turrican mission statement with a souped-up take on the same material with Turrican […]

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“Along the way, stuff your belly and nap awhile.” It had been far too long since we checked in with the permanently ravenous pink orb, so we […]

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“PLEASE RETRY!” The Super Mario Land trilogy ends and the Wario saga begins. In our latest podcast on Nintendo’s garlic-loving antihero we set sail for […]

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“You may not believe it’s true, but I only ever loved all of you …” It’s time for a show! Join Brian, Chris, Darren and Leah […]

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“Prepare to cower before the true shape of Dracula!” We debated whether or not to dig into Castlevania’s three-dimensional escapades. In the end the ayes […]

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“Race!!!” In Rollcage and Rollcage Stage II,  Players drive an indestructible vehicle where the concept of up and down doesn’t really matter and physics are […]

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“IMMORTALS” Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall joins us as special guest for this 45th anniversary celebration of Williams’ Defender, and its sequel, Stargate (both 1981). Leon, Chris […]

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“But nothing could stop them, because they were in love” Are videogames art? It’s a stupid, pointless question that we have never felt the need […]

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“Dance, baby, dance. Dance to the “death”!” The Cane and Rinse videogame podcast returns for its fifteen year with its first ever lightgun game coverage. […]

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“What took you so long? Constipation?” Concluding our 2025 roster with a 25+ million seller because, well, why not? Leon, Jay and Tony (the original […]

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“AND REMEMBER… SHOOT OR DIE!” Buttery-smooth 8-way scrolling and 1300 screens of run and gun platform shoot-’em up action on 8 or 16-bit. That was the […]

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“Always believe in yourself and keep striving on!” Whether you consider it to be an on-rails shooter or a 3D run and gun with auto-scrolling, […]

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“And don’t call them V-Wings – that’s not correct terminology.” One of the very first games out of Lucasfilm’s freshly-formed games studio, Rescue on Fractalus! […]

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“Okay, Eggman! Bring it on!” Our Sonic series of podcasts continues with Blue Blur’s 3D debut (proper), Sonic Adventure. Leon, Darren, Leah, Tony and a glut of […]

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“You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He’s far too nice for his own good.” Who says thay a boy, a duck, and a […]

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“The Dark Genie’s power surges—stand or be erased.” In 2000, Sony needed an RPG for its new powerhouse console, the PlayStation 2. Perhaps surprisingly, it […]

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