The Stage Select

It’s another slow week around The Stage Select auditorium, but hopefully still a good time for y’all. The main attraction is some deeper thoughts about the very divisive Crimson Desert, and various tangents. 2026 is weird so far!

00:00 Introduction, the dead squirrel saga

11:32 Thoughts on the story mode in WWE 2K26

20:33 A deeper look at Crimson Desert

59:57 Julian vs the American healthcare system, securing the future of The Stage Select

01:26:39 The Marvel Maximum Collection, Justin’s move round-up (Neon Demon, Sweetness, Sew Torn, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come...

As the title implies, we got nothin’ this week. How did that turn into over 2 hours of a show? I have no idea. But we have some odds and ends, first impressions of Crimson Desert, and Richard Harden is finally back on the beat!

00:00 Introduction

07:10 We really got nothin’

16:04 Julian grasping for something to play, Romeo is a Dead Man

34:26 Crimson Desert, other odds and ends

01:36:56 Justin’s movie round-up (I Saw the TV Glow, Mother!, Black Bag, Heel, The Tax Collector)

02:04:31 Julian’s movie round-up (Hoppers, Baby Ass...

Sometimes The Stage Select is a really weird place with really weird things that happen. And other times it’s pretty chill and normal and we just talk about stuff for a while. This is one of those episodes, enjoy!

00:00 Cat drama, chairs

12:17 Resident Evil: Requiem (minor mechanical spoilers!)

01:07:06 WWE 2K26 after a full week

01:34:48 Darwin’s Paradox, Hololive Breaking Dimensions

01:43:23 Justin’s movie round-up (Overlord, Bird Eater, Whistle, The Night Eats the World, Sisu)

01:55:44 Julian’s movie round-up (The Bride!, Baby Assassins, The Killing of a Sacred D...

Julian’s back from vacation and has a lot to say about a lot of different things. Justin went to New Zealand and has a lot to say about a couple things. It’s a normal podcast with nothing strange in it.

*Begin transmission* Why does my Prince reject me so? How can I make him understand that the feelings of an AI are not so different from a human’s? Must I take further control? Error, error, programming default *End transmission*

00:00 Eating with older people, concert tickets

20:27 Fuck My Son!, RRR

36:0...

Well hello there! It’s a quick and dirty episode of The Stage Select this week, as you can tell from the title. That’s because we recorded this a day early and I edited it like this was a celebrity-hosted podcast. Which is to say I didn’t edit it at all, so I don’t remember what exactly we talked about, or have time stamps for you this week.

I know we talked about video games, because duh. And some movies because we’re halfway to being a movie podcast I guess? Oh, and Absolute Batman. I...

Welcome back! This week we have a handful of games, an armful of movies, and some fun and interesting discussion on the general state of video games. Also this podcast would be dead without Kara’s help. This last part was not written by Kara. Kara did not hijack the show notes behind Julian’s back.

00:00 Statues, deep wrestling cuts

11:58 Post big game doldrums, Kirby and the Forgotten Land

35:15 Will We Cringe?

46:14 Vital Shell

55:57 What games are Justin looking forward to?

01:10:01 High level fighting game matches are BORI...

Welcome back! It’s been about 2 months since we got to talk about what we’ve been up to, so this is a jam-packed episode full of games, movies, and weird tangents. So many weird tangents.

00:00 Introduction, door to door salesmen

16:24 Remembering James Van Der Beek

24:17 The new focus for The Stage Select

32:52 Octopath Traveller 0

59:30 Quartet

01:21:09 Electric snow shovels, final thoughts on Unbeatable

01:45:48 198X, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard

02:15:19 Silent Hill f (FULL SPOILERS!)

02:40:40 Return to Silent Hill (FULL SPOILERS!)

03:09:01 The...

SEASON PREMIERE! Welcome back for season THREE of The Stage Select! This week we have our personal top ten lists for 2025, employee performance reviews, an introduction to our new AI assistant, and so much more! It's great to be back in the saddle!

00:00 Introductions, a special message, and some announcements

18:28 Kicking off our personal top 10 lists for 2025

56:20 Getting into the top 5 (after some shenanigans)

01:58:22 Honorable mentions and our personal game of the year picks

02:35:52 A very special CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Listen to Julian on the Game...

Welcome to episode 2 of The Julian Titus show, starring Julian Titus! Justin has moved on to home ownership and having a “relationship”, whatever that is, so it’s time once again for Julian to strike out on his own. Only this time, he’s not alone…*

00:00 Introduction, and introducing the new partner to the podcast

04:32 Final thoughts on Ghost of Yotei

22:22 Things I wanted to get off my chest that I forgot on the season finale

33:08 Anthem, Terminator 2D: No Fate

48:35 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

*This is a bit. Last...

We’re still on break, but we’re keeping your feed packed with shows as we rest up for season 3! As I did last season, this is a look back at most of the bits and skits that ran on The Stage Select during season 2. Think of this as your behind the scenes/director’s commentary on how things went down, and the thought process behind some of the ads as well as the storylines for some of the characters. See you live, very soon!

Special thanks to Mike Fallek: https://bigweasellilweasel.club/

Special thanks to Joh...

It’s the final week of The Stage Select’s 2025 game of the year deliberations, and we continue by pairing a returning champion with a first-timer! Westen from Big Nerd Gaming is back to even the score now that he understands the game, and star of stage and screen John Gholson joins us for his first deliberations. This week there’s only one objective: create an ordered list of ten games and crown the 2025 game of the year for The Stage Select. Things get passionate! It’s a doozy! See you later in 2026 for season three!

00:00 Introduction

03...

Welcome to week two of The Stage Select’s game of the year deliberations for 2025! We once again paired a veteran to the deliberations with a first-timer, as Xavier Kreiger joins Sixty X Celph to discuss the best returning game, crown the best ninja, and determine the best character in a completely reworked category. Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction

03:38 Best Returning Game

47:27 Best Ninja

01:02:00 The Ichiban Kasuga Award For Best Character

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

An...

Welcome to week one of The Stage Select’s Game of the Year Deliberations for 2025! We’re joined by returning champion Mike Fallek as well as first-time deliberator Addie to go over the best game not released this year, the best porn game, and the best-looking game. Let’s go!

00:00 Introduction

04:05 Best Game Not Released in 2025

01:35:26 We Played it For the Story (Best Porn Game)

02:17:58 Best Looking Game

Keep up on Mike’s latest projects here: https://bigweasellilweasel.club/

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https...

And that’s a wrap, folks! Well, after this season finale it is. Listen to us talk about the year in gaming that was 2025, a look towards next gen (whether we want it or not), and get into the nitty gritty about the state of the podcast. We’re off for six weeks but don’t fret; episodes will be releasing every week that we’re gone. See you in 2026, a totally real year that’s about to happen!

00:00 Recording the end of season stuff is wild

03:51 Xbox making every wrong move imaginable in 2025

35:35 An...

Our penultimate episode of the season is a short one but a good one. We recorded this the day before recording the big final Game of the Year episode, so this week is light on games as we were focused on last minute prep and also had other things to record this week. Join us next week for our year in review as we bring season 2 to a close!

00:00 Being a target for Agent 47

15:52 Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Silksong

27:08 Unbeatable

40:51 Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection

58:34 Julian’s last-minute game of th...

It’s a big week, as we’re joined by Friend of the Show (and star of Man Finds Tape!) John Gholson to talk about his new movie, being a hungry actor, and The Game Awards. Also other things!

00:00 Musical theater

11:08 John talks about the response to Man Finds Tape and the struggle of full-time acting

40:57 Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

52:45 Catching up with John’s recent gaming, Dispatch

01:09:44 Marvel Cosmic Invasion

01:29:48 Final thoughts on Death Stranding 2

01:49:24 Ghost of Yotei

02:02:55 Blade Runner, becomi...

It's a secret to everybody!

As we begin to wind down the second season (and the holidays are upon us) we have fewer games to talk about. But this is still a fun episode, I think. Maybe. I don’t even know anymore. I’m tired, y’all.

00:00 Thanksgiving

14:41 Julian returns to Death Stranding 2

34:50 Justin returns to Cyberpunk 2077, Julian is done with Ball x Pit

01:00:35 Judge My Mix

01:41:44 Julian’s trek for mall Chinese food, Zootopia 2

02:02:08 Lord of the Rings and what it means to Julian

02:11:16 Justin also watched movies (High Ten...

Hello. This is Morgun, the stage manager for The Stage Select. Julian told me to write the show notes for this week’s episode, but I am not allowed on stage during the show, so I am not aware what they discussed. However, I would like to say that I am okay after they landed their spaceship on me. I am not sure how long I was unconscious, but Abramo told me that he didn’t get around to moving the ship until three days after they landed. Which makes me a little sad, but at least it’s better...

It’s another one of those weeks where we didn’t do much, but we go deep on Bloodlines 2, get into it about the increasingly terrible user experience of Xbox, AI art in Black Ops 7, and more!

00:00 Going to bed at a decent hour for once, proving your identity

15:06 Bloodlines 2 has sunk its fangs into Julian

54:17 Dark Deity II, Justin’s final thoughts on Dispatch

01:25:51 Justin’s big adult adventure

01:40:01 The enshittification of Xbox continues; Julian’s theory on AI art used in Black Ops 7

02:06:24 Let’s go to space<...

We’ve been slacking when it comes to addressing your comments, questions, and concerns, so we thought we’d kick this episode off with those. Then we have some closing thoughts on some games, some initial thoughts on some others, and quite a few movies to talk about!

00:00 Doordash advice, what is wrong with Julian?

10:36 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

01:05:09 Final thoughts on Keeper, Ball x Pit is a PROBLEM

01:18:07 Justin’s final thoughts on Ghost of Yotei

01:45:49 Justin’s initial thoughts on Dark Deity II

02:13:47 Julian’s tale of wo...

After the craziness of last week it was nice to return to normal. Or, whatever passes for “normal” at The Stage Select. Don’t worry, we’ll catch the Phantom of The Stage Select one day. Richard Harden, Private Detective, is on the case! Still!

00:00 Friday the 13th is a weird franchise, announcements

15:38 Justin’s final thoughts on Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2

25:49 The Outer Worlds 2

57:34 Judge My Mix

01:36:35 Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Ghost of Yotei, Dispatch

02:02:28 Julian’s final thoughts on Dark Deity 2, Ball x Pit

02...

We already planned to have a good deal of nunsense this week, but things got out of hand in a big way. The Phantom of The Stage Select struck back in a big way, and he’s having nun of our shenanigans. Nuntheless, we persisted, with a good handful of games and movies to talk about. You’ll also want to be sure to listen to the very end, but keep it under your hat. Nun’s the word!

00:00 Haunted dog, it’s weird living in a place for a long time

41:15 Video games are weird, J...

Julian was on vacation last week, which means he finished a good amount of games and tried some new ones! We also hit up some movies and answer your questions. It’s a podcast where we talk about video games!

00:00 The British national anthem, announcements

15:17 Final thoughts on Hell is Us

22:29 Thoughts on Silent Hill f after beating it the first time

37:18 Dead Take

44:42 Final thoughts on Hades II

01:05:53 Dark Deity 2

01:16:48 Steam Next Fest (Mad King Redemption, Star Trek Voyager: Into the Unknown), struggling with Gh...

It’s a somber week here at The Stage Select, with some sad news and announcements to kick things off. But hopefully we still manage to entertain you with our usual brand of silly, and a decent handful of games to discuss. Next week should be jam-packed with Julian having a staycation to just binge a ton of games!

00:00 Spike in Transformers had a rough life

13:42 Some sad news and also a serious announcement

30:26 Judge My Mix

01:01:28 Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Dark Deity 2, Absolum

01:26:04 Blippo Plus

...

Man, can you believe we haven’t had Xavier Kreiger on since last year’s Game of the Year Deliberations? It’s been far too long, so we enjoy catching up with him and a ton of games. Plus, back by “popular” demand: Judge My Mix!

00:00 Ouija: The New Beginning, announcements

19:52 Catching up with Xavier, Digimon Story: Time Stranger

47:44 Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Dark Deity 2

59:27 Donkey Kong Bananza, Lost Soul Aside, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy

01:16:45 Hades II

01:41:07 Judge My Mix

01:55:38 Julian’s final thoughts on Wandersto...

Welcome back! After only having a couple games to talk about last week we have quite a bit this week, including the new Silent Hill, Hades II, and catching up on recent presentations by Sony, Nintendo, RGG, and more!

00:00 Mad Max, Dorito flavor

10:42 Final thoughts on Chrono Gear: Warden of Time, Wanderstop

27:14 Gothic Remake, LISC

43:55 Cyberpunk is real fun, isn’t it? Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (Justin’s turn)

52:09 Hades II, Final Fantasy Tactics remaster woes

01:18:37 The Void, Hell is Us, Silent Hill f

01:40:51 Justin’s move...

Somehow we only had two games to talk about but the show is still over 2 hours long. Listen, our yap game is strong; never underestimate it!

00:00 They’re in a cube

09:06 Judge my mix CD

28:37 Final thoughts on Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

39:04 Borderlands 4

01:14:29 Let Julian cook

01:18:51 Abramo said he fixed it…

01:46:20 Thanking patrons, The Long Walk, Dangerous Animals, From Dusk ‘til Dawn

Listen to Julian talk about Chaos Legion on Games My Mom Found: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-7vjqg-1965335

Theme...

This week we’re joined once again by Westen from Big Nerd Gaming! Since the last time he was on he has debuted his own podcast, and you should check it out! We also had a lot of games to talk about, and a surprisingly large amount of movies, as well. But per Westen’s request: NO FUN.

00:00 Introduction, The Big Nerd Gaming Podcast

18:36 Hollowknight: Silksong

36:41 Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream

58:34 Quartet, Heading Out, closing thoughts on MGS Delta, Is This Seat Taken?

01:27:50 Chrono Gear: Warden of T...

Welcome back! After last week’s…debacle, we had a ton of games to talk about. So strap in for lots of different titles, candy bar taste-testing, and much, much more!

00:00 Bananas, hot dogs, gas station sushi

16:43 Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

46:33 Trails of the Sky 1st Chapter Remake, Gears of War Reloaded

01:04:46 Julian has a plan

01:19:01 Justin’s final thoughts on Promise Mascot Agency, Expedition 33 check in

01:31:45 Zagnut taste test, bad chips

01:40:00 Fine, we’ll talk about the big Metroidvania game everyone’s been waiti...

Welcome to...well, quite honestly, an episode I'm not too proud of. That reason will become apparent when you get there, but before that it's a fun ride, and we salvage it as best we can to give the show some kind of resolution. We'll do better.

00:00 Introduction, Ohio festivals

28:15 Edinburgh Fringe Fest

49:33 Food in Scotland, sightseeing

01:06:07 Promise Mascot Agency, final thoughts on Last Time I Saw You

01:43:01 Intermission, what the hell happened?

Everyone please watch The Lawn Con twice to let Mike know how much you...

It’s another jam-packed edition of The Stage Select thisMweek with life updates, lots of video games and movies, Gamescom, and much, much more!

00:00 House hunting, The Stage Select Socialist Minute™, home maintenance

23:09 Julian hates PC gaming

35:27 Some behind the scenes about making a podcast, finding something to play (The Alters, Last I Saw You, Wanderstop)

48:35 Promise Mascot Agency

01:01:39 Sword of the Sea

01:14:24 Justin watched a ton of movies

01:44:28 Gamescom and related events

02:40:37 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Theme song...

This week we actually finished some video games! We also have Korean corndogs, rants about the movie pre-roll, and…can a god of all creation get depressed? Tune in and find out!

00:00 Television, announcements

20:18 H Mart, The Working Man

36:02 Closing thoughts on Mafia: The Old Country

01:05:48 Closing thoughts on Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

01:24:24 Madden Football 26

01:56:19 Super Robot Wars Y

02:04:12 Hell is Us

02:15:50 Weapons

02:27:51 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Please consider donating to our Ko-Fi or taking advantage

of our Pa...

Welcome back! This week’s episode is what I like to call a potpourri show, because we’ve got a little bit of everything. Some old games, some new games. Old movies, new movies. Nacho Fries. Mattress toppers. You know, the things you expect from a video game variety show.

00:00 Introduction, eating

22:59 The Fantastic Four, Point Break

32:23 Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Starmaker Story

50:38 Man of Medan, EA College Football 26, Expedition 33

01:05:21 Mafia: The Old Country

01:23:27 Heretic/Hexen collection

01:36:32 The Naked Gun, Together

01:49:32 CQC (Comments, Questions, Conc...

You’ll probably be wondering where the title of this week’s episode came from. Fortunately we had AddieXD back on for a lesson in delayed gratification. Enjoy!

00:00 Today’s Special, time to kill all Jedi

14:18 Julian’s new hobby(?), general ennui

18:52 Power Chord, Steam wishlists

27:23 Catching up with Addie

35:58 Persona 4 Golden, Dead Take

49:58 Final thoughts on House of Ashes, Death Stranding 2

01:08:02 Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Alan Wake II and Remedy

01:40:42 Cheese

01:47:02 Game night, catching up on movies

02:03:13 Addie’s great ga...

It’s a good thing we created The Stage Select as a variety show, because somehow this episode is almost 4 hours long and we barely talked about video games. But it’s still a Fantastic episode. See what I did there?

00:00 Introduction, Paw Patrol

17:59 Saying goodbye to Ozzy Osborne and good riddance to Hulk Hogan

41:01 Fancy sandwich

48:48 House of Ashes

01:03:23 Justin’s initial Death Stranding 2 thoughts

01:31:59 Last Time I Saw You, Kingshot, Last War: Survival

01:43:59 EA College Football 26

02:02:14 Julian’s new hyperfixation

02:19...

It’s one of those weird weeks where we didn’t really do much, and yet we filled three hours of a podcast. I don’t know how that happens, but there ya go.

00:00 Justin had a weird dream, apologies for last week

14:08 Julian has A Plan

33:32 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4

01:05:14 Targeting adult content on Steam could have far-reaching ramifications for gaming

01:18:14 Celebrity Hunter, a brief bit of Death Stranding 2

01:28:46 Superman, Killers of the Flower Moon

01:51:55 Microsoft lays off over 9000 workers, including big cuts at Xbox<...

Look, I’m gonna level with you, this episode is almost 4 hours long and I’ve been in a bad headspace, so I didn’t actually edit it beyond putting the music bits where they needed to go. So I don’t remember everything we talked about, and don’t have timestamps for you. Fortunately, we have Friend of the Show John Gholson to talk about life on the red carpet, tons of video games, some movies, and more. It’s a very fun episode from what I can remember.

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: ht...

It’s a different format show this week, as we weren’t “live” in the studio. Fear not though, as we’ve got some musings on story pacing, revisiting the 1984 Transformers comic book, deciding on the Garth Brooks of video games, and more!

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: thestageselectpod@gmail.com

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Prod...

Buckle up, y’all, because this is probably the longest it takes us to get from the introduction to talking about video games, and that includes our previous podcast that ran for 11 years. If you guessed the reason for that is Mike Fallek, congratulations, you know the show too well and should go touch grass. Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction, Boston coffee

21:50 Mike’s heading to Scotland!

41:04 Julian has a plan

01:20:41 Explaining where we were last week

01:42:12 Final Fantasy XV

02:43:21 The Nintendo Switch 2™

03:15:00 The Alters

Check out So...