Side Story - Podcast Rankings and reviews

Really good insight to games I’ve never heard of. It’s great to hear so many different opinions on different aspects of games. Very easy and enjoyable to listen to even if you’re not a big video game person

Like many people, I’ve been longing to hear Austin talk about games on a regular pod since he left Waypoint. He’s back and as great as ever! The real surprise here are all the rotating cohosts. I am not a “friends at the table” listener, so these folks are all new to me (except Ali, AMCA hive rise up), and I gotta say: they are great folks! Smart, genuine people with great rapport? Getting deep and weird on all kinds of games I’ll probably never play? I’ll take as much as you got!

P.S. - I redownloaded Apple Podcasts just to write this review, it’s just that good.

P.S.S. - The I stands for “Intelligence” and will be revealed when they unveil some horrible AI features are in the game. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

I’m writing this review not just because the podcast deserves five stars (it’s great, please listen), but also because I have a guess for what the mysterious “i” stands for in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.

“Iyashikei” is the Japanese word for a genre of works similar to what the West has taken to calling “cozy” or “wholesome.” These works are typically low-stakes, slice-of-life stories intended to “heal” the audience (iyashi literally meaning healing) with good times and chill vibes. I recently learned the term, so I immediately thought of it when the question was pitched on the podcast.

Anyway, if you are not one of the hosts of the show and happen to have read this far, stop doing that and subscribe to the pod instead - it’s a delight, and getting to listen to Austin Walker talk about video games again has certainly had a “healing” effect on me.

Picking up the legacy of several of the best video games podcasts of all time, this is a delightful, warm, thoughtful journey through a diverse set of games in every episode.