Into the Aether - A Low Key Video Game Podcast

Joey's head pierces the veil of the chained apartment door as blinding sunlight pours in behind him. His eyes are wrong — they're the color of jewels, reds and blues all mixed up and coating every millimeter. His expression is contorted, almost beyond recognition. "THE CEASELESS FEAST OF WANT," he yells into the room, "A GLEAMING BEACON SHIMMERING ON THE HORIZON." He tries to force his way into the room again, but the chain holds. "WE ARE WANTED. WE ARE HERE TO SERVE AND REST OUR BONES UPON A GOLDEN THRONE. THE SUN IS FOREVER, AND SO TOO SHALL WE BE...

Name one hundred grandfathers. Fastest to name one hundred grandfathers wins. You will be disqualified if you name someone who is not a grandfather or if you remove your headphones which will be naming one hundred grandmothers at a high volume. Your time starts when you put your headphones on.

Discussed: Taskmaster, huge thanks to our patrons, the Vita episode is out, handheld games, revisiting Rogue Legacy 2 on a smaller screen, future consoles, daydreaming about UFO 50, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, the joys of character creation, video game musicals, Vampire Crawlers, Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse, what games...

It's Henry's court now.

Discussed: Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, the joy of making OCs, Vampire Crawlers, Titanium Court, Hatsworthy games, hits that didn’t click 

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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
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Season 8 cover art by...

The AI running this moonbase hasn't responded for a few days, which is weird. I'm being sent up there on a mission to investigate the possible cause, but before I go I have one last thing on my agenda: Play a kickass rock song with the crew.

Discussed: the p4g episode and the vita episode, Pragmata, the street sweeper, fighting games, Guilty Gear Strive 2.0, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the Persona spin-offs, Pokémon Champions

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Stephen and Brendon discuss the entirety of Persona 4 Golden and answer questions about friendship, social psychology, and what it's like to be a maligned cartoon bear in the human world.

Discussed: Persona 4 Golden

ITA's PS1 Playlist

Matt Horton's video essay on P4G for Flow State

"It's Time to Talk About it: Atlus, Naoto, and Transphobia" by Mattie Brice
"Atlus, We Haven't Forgotten Your Mishandling of LGBTQ Characters" by Carol Grant
"Persona 4's Identity Crisis Invalidates its Themes" by Lucas White
"Denial of the Self: Queer Characters in...

Surgeon General's Warning: Consuming Daruni-O's in any capacity can cause multiple health problems including chipped or broken teeth, stomach pain, or death. Do not consume Daruni-O's if human or Hylian. Daruni-O's are meant for goron consumption only.

Discussed: spring, upcoming Vita episode, FFX on Vita, the potential Ocarina of Time remake, perception of remakes, different eras of Zelda, Advance Wars, Cairn, photo mode in RE9

GMTK video about where Zelda can go next as a series
Climber plays Cairn

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When the calendar is bare, and a game can fit in there?
That's Fire Emblem: Three Houses!
When you don't know what to play, but you gotta kill the day?
That's Fire Emblem: Three Houses!

Discussed: PAX East, C2E2, new patreon episodes, the 2010 era of roguelikes, Spelunky, FTL, different styles of motivation, Fire Emblem Three Houses, the beauty of barks, Mega Man Star Force, the worst dressage music 

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Oh god, Wally's up on stage at the open mic again. Get ready for ten more minutes of "Oh! Susanna" unless he finally learned how to play something new this month…

Discussed: Upcoming P4G bonus, Persona 5 Royal, the loop of Persona, our expectations for Persona 6, Resident Evil Requiem, the hunk of gaming, the history and the future of Resident Evil, Soul Calibur III, Marathon

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Fo...

Travel outside of any major metropolitan area. Escape the light pollution. Hike out to the middle of the woods. Climb the highest peak you can. On exceptionally clear nights, surrounded by your friends, look into the sky and you just might see him peering back.

Discussed: Our hero with a pizza, an impromptu Square Enix discussion, the strength of Team Asano, the future of Final Fantasy, Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse, final puzzles and true endings, the future of Paranormasight, the importance of niche appeal and modest success, Teddie, Slay the Spire II, the March "forever" games, Po...

"Yo, Ditto, I gotta admit -- splitting the rent is almost as fun as gathering lumber!"

If anyone else said this to me, I would assume they were being passive aggressive. But not Scyther, my roommate. He's the coolest guy in all of Pokopia.

Discussed: Pokémon Pokopia, the DQ Builders 2 influence, Pokémon personalities, roommate Scyther, the future of Animal Crossing, the latter half of Resident Evil Requiem, the Jekyll and Hyde restaurant, why Claire Redfield should be in more games, Slay the Spire 2 Early Access, the unique challenge of making a sequel to a...

If I do this squat, it'll be the most squats I've ever done outside of The Shire.

Discussed: Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom’s modern hits, Off-Broadway Skyrim, our experience with Resident Evil, Leon and Grace, camp, Ys X: Proud Nordics, modern Ys gameplay, Buff Sam, Trails of Cold Steel, Falcom Corner, Marathon Server Slam, battle royales and Destiny-likes, BB’s time with Destiny, extraction shooters, Super Monsanto, Big Defect

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Sakurai steps up to the podium, looking troubled. He's not his confident self this time around — and it's doubly weird that he's making this announcement live and in person instead of through some kind of Nintendo Direct. There's even regular press here, not just games media people. "We are removing Matthew McConaughey as Mud from Super Smash Bros. We are aware of rumors circulating regarding a licensing agreement lapsing or some kind of issue with having a real person present in the video game, but this is all just speculation. The truth is that we are removing Mud because he...

Sometimes life leads you down a certain path where you know exactly where, when, how, and why things should fall into their natural order. Other times, you need to dice of fate to give you a helping hand. And that's what life is all about.

Discussed: rolling a d10, Windblown, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the vibe of the Vita library, BB’s P4G update, rolling a 4, Culdcept, Smash Bros. for 3DS, Tabuu, Under the Island, the influence of Zelda, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, the tragedy of Fatal Labyrinth

Fi...

Linguists are baffled. “There seems to be a new subcommunity in a niche online video game developing a totally new manner of speech by fusing what’s known as the ‘Valorant accent’ with idioms from medieval English,” writes a joint statement from The Linguistic Society of East and West.

Discussed: BB realizes he’s offline, Highguard, early impressions of Deadlock, Yoda in Soul Calibur, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, the pros and cons of remakes, the history of DQVII, Nioh 3, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Demo, new games on the horizon 

"A History of Dragon Quest (and Wh...

The makings of a Joeylike are pretty simple, all things considered: The player character needs to ask "how you doin'?" as often as possible. This generally makes Joeylikes easy to spot from a mile away, but it also means they come off as derivative. Attempts to change the Joeylike catchphrase are often disasterous.  

Discussed: Code Vein II, Nioh 3's demo, Elden Ring: Nightreign, soulslikes, Joey from Friends, Fire Emblem Awakening, CAIRN

Check out Pixels and Polygons! - https://pixelsandpolygons.net/

Jareth skulks through the castle and out the front gates while listening to their favorite podcast, hair somehow bopping to and fro while also locked into its gravity-defying shape. As he makes his way towards the lillies, a new song idea slams its way into his frontal lobe. It's a riff on another song he sang long ago. He croaks it into existence.

Discussed: strange recording arrangements, Persona 4 Golden, the final bosses of Persona, Tokyo Xanadu Ex+, the potential of a sequel, DnD with Brendon, 428: Shibuya Scramble, Code Vein II Demo, dreams of Tomodachi Life, and a...

I don't mean to hy my own tale about this, but I have some theories about Persona 6 that I'm feeling pretty confident about.

Discussed: Malort, steam heat radiators responding to negative temperature weather, Tekken 3, informed button mashing, Vital Shell, Cannon Spike-Likes, a reminder about the ps1 poll and goty giveaway, Escape From Ever After, next bonus ep, Persona 6 theories, Hytale

Cameron’s piece on Hytale

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What do Dragon Quest games and 90s Nickelodeon game shows have in common?

Discussed: What is five dollars, Blue Prince, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Unbeatable, Mario Tennis: Power Tour

Use code AETHER20 at checkout for 20% off your first year of Pika!

Thank you to Theater of the Mindset for sponsoring this episode!

Hey is this thing on? Had an idea for a Persona game but instead of "The Midnight Channel" there's "The 7:18 Bowl of Chili." What do we think, gang?

Discussed: Post-GOTY, what we had for dinner, Antiques Roadshow, GOTY 2016, the next season premiere, The Jersey Devil, Brendon Vaguely, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, the appeal of the Warriors spin-offs, Zelda’s past and future, the Zelda movie, Persona 4 Golden, the upcoming Persona 4 remake, the unique strengths of Persona 4

(Spoilers for our 2026 Season Pr...

Hear ye, hear ye!! Don your warmest winter gear and settle in for another recounting of our favorite video games from this most recent year. And by "our" we of course also mean "your." It's everyone's GOTY. And that's why it's called a "Spectacular."

Discussed: Our ten favorite games of 2025, and a lot more.

(Spoilers for our 2026 Season Premiere:) Google Form for your input. Details mentioned in the episode!

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The return of bump-slash combat is here, but what we’re positing is: What if it’s time for throw up and explode combat?

Disclaimer: We recorded this before the recent news about Larian’s use of generative AI for creative work. It’s very disappointing.

Discussed: the Vita is here, Persona 4 Golden, the upcoming remake of P4, our experience getting into Persona, our S-Link arcana, Vita games we’re most excited for, a caveat from the future, the Divinity trailer, BG3, Divinity Original Sin 2, the pending fate of GTA 6, 2025 takeaways, Angeline Era, bump-slash renaissance, Octopath T...

We're joined this week by Brandon Sheffield — creative director at Necrosoft Games and cohost of the fantastic Insert Credit podcast — for a conversation about making games, and making Demonschool specifically. Afterwards, we have a conversation about the highs and lows of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and making a version of Rorschach who is somehow even worse than the original.

Discussed: Brandon Sheffield is here, the pitfalls of men’s fashion, the release of Demonschool, the beauty and importance of 7/10 games, the PS1 era, design informed by limitation, Jeanne d’Arc, how tactics games could be streamlined, News Tower, the spec...

We're bringing a whole new meaning to the idea of "cousin games."

Follow Jack Kentala and check out his debut novel Meet Me In The Gameroom at https://www.jackkentala.com!

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Bib Fortuna takes the stage — calm, composed, he's been practicing for this moment — and takes a deep breath before revealing the next era of video game conferences. "We all know E3 has come and gone, but it's time for something truly new. I present: Steve-B."

Check out Skull and Scones at https://skullandscones.com!

You kill time, I kill demons. We are not the same.

Discussed: Memories from four weeks ago, Demon School, the influence of Persona and SMT, Lumines Arise, another A2 Scenario, Octopath Traveler 0 (Demo), the new era of retro RPGs, the best year for Pokémon ROM Hacks, what is happening with Metroid Prime 4, GOTY prep

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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Fo...

Flip a coin and it lands on heads or tails. Release a Dragon Quest and it lands on every platform. Makes you think.

Matt Horton's video essay and interview about coin flipping games on Flow State

Q-Up soundtrack on bandcamp

Discussed: New stuff on Patreon, Stephen on Wavelengths, games about flipping coins, Q-Up, e-sports, Unfair Flips, recent history of Warriors spin-off games, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, the Zelda timeline, Zelda games starring Zelda, DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake — on all platforms, the value of remakes, Silksong, the appeal of an ac...

I was heading towards Quelaag's Domain but had to pass through Foul Rift to get there... and I gotta say, I think this is the kind of place I could very easily call "home."

Matt Horton's video essay and interview about coin flipping games on Flow State

Discussed: A new November segment, Foul Rift, clowns, Powerline, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, Pokémon Hearth, Pokémon Heart & Soul, Pokémon Yume, Pokémon Odyssey, Pokémon, Tales of Xillia Remastered, and games we’re excited for!

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online<...

I'm toiling away today, bagging trash and wiping down the windows while I process these signals. This morning I woke up and the first pass was done, but I'll need to let the system do its thing two more times before I can package the data up and ship it off. I think it's at 78% or something at this point, but it won't be done until dinner time at the earliest and by that point I'll need to decide between eating a bag of chips again or trying my luck on the shrimp that was in the fridge when...

Alright everyone, sing along! 
Portamon, portable monsters,
Portamon can come with you!
Portamon, portable monsters,
Portamon on the go!

Discussed: Broadway musicals, Trails in the Sky Patreon bonus, our Patreon goals and the Vita episode, Pokémon and its divisive Switch era, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, We Know the Devil, Despelote, Ball X Pit, the ideal pacing of Roguelikes, a brief Hades II update

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Gretchen looks at you with knowing eyes, and you can sense something within her literally dogged frame is desperate to say more than the small, breathy "woof" that escapes her mouth. You tell Stella that her dog speaks with a refined cadence. You'll be gone in a week anyway, why not shake the town up a bit and make them believe you can talk to animals before you go?

Discussed: The worst bit of all time, GOTY prep, Consume Me, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Stephen’s Backloggd activity, LEGO Party, gauging Mario Party as a series, the potential fu...

We're joined by Erik Morrison to finally talk at length about one of the many on-ramps into Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's huge Like a Dragon franchise: Yakuza 0.

Thank you to Erik for the doodles which became the basis of the episode art.
Find more of their work here: https://erikmorrison.com/

Check out RiaDoodles' excellent Yakuza fanart!
"Like a Gacha"
"Animal Crossing Tomizawa"
"Aliens"

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What do you call it when a sequel to a beloved game improves on almost everything? What do you call it when that's not enough?

Discussed: Brendon’s return, our experience with Digimon, the email song, dreaming of Scarlet Nexus 2, Digimon Story: Time Stranger, the name of the halloween segment, Strange Antiquities, the current state of mouse mode, Unfair Flips, probability in games, Silent Hill f, Hades II, the A2 effect

Thank you Kevin Grant for sponsoring this episode. Play Celtreos! https://www.kevingrant.name/apps/celtreos/ita/ 

When Minecraft Steve threatens the survival of the human race, New York City native Aya Brea must rise up to put a stop to his crafty ways.

Discussed: October’s arrival, Spooky Season’s new name, Hades II, what makes Supergiant special, the history of indie games, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, Uncle Poseidon’s Wild Ride, the appeal of the video game ensemble, the appeal of the video game sequel, Parasite Eve, renting horror games as a kid, dad games and games with dads, PS1 horror, and the future of Parasite Eve

This episod...

Huddle up for warmth, grab a handkerchief, and turn off your computer terminal. Maybe just take this ride easy, you're not getting paid more to rush.

"This RPG series does everything wrong, and it's working" by Joshua Rivera

Discussed: Brendon is sniffly, Yakuza 0 bonus, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition, Easy Delivery Co, Mycopunk, Silksong

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Does anyone else hear that low buzzing sound when the residents of Mineral Town talk? Or are my ears still ringing from my last encounter with Mayor Felix? Time will tell, I suppose.

Discussed: We’re both sick, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, what makes communities in games feel alive, games about being a shopkeeper, Neopets, Mayor Felix, PEAK, Friendslop, the secret microphone within the Steam Deck, the word “marvel”, Silksong, intrinsic motivation, Hades II on the horizon, a new Fire Emblem, Nine Sols, parrying and stealth missions, Bake Off sketches, and lunchtime

Find us everyw...

okay but you HAD to have known this one was coming

(thanks to anonyman in the discord for the screenshot)

Silksong is out! So, what do we wish for now?

Discussed: Hollow Knight: Silksong

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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
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Season 8 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: h...

Now THIS is what I call GILDED!

Discussed: The calm before the storm, Silksong, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, Mario Golf and Sports RPGs, replaying games as different characters, game adaptions, Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World, when it’s fun to be a completionist, family, The Gilded Age, New Moon in theaters, Road Trip to the End of the World (it’s out now!), A Dream About Parking Lots, Time Flies, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, Antiques Roadshow 

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Hello and welcome to the very first edition of The Port Aether Shore Leave Society, a new monthly show where we'll be talking about anything — video game or otherwise! We wanted to give everyone an idea of what Shore Leave will be like going forward, but all future episodes will be available each month for patrons at the $5 tier and above: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast

Hope you enjoy it!

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The Batter may be mean and the Brickman may be scary. But Silksong is coming out. And video games...are still good.

"Why Silksong Took Seven Years to Make" by Jason Schreier
Memoria's great video about day-old steam games
"Hollow Knight Is One Of The Best Games You'll Play This Year" by Joshua Rivera
"As the Trails series' ending is in sight, Nihon Falcom prepares to tackle the impossible" by James Galizio
Dunkey's UFO 50 experience

Discussed:  Reading under trees, Silksong announced, the issue of game discoverability, Trails in the Sky FC D...