The Gamers' Inn

We’re off this week, so we thought we would release one of our Patreon Host Specials on the main feed! As chosen by the Patrons, they’ve decided to release Jocelyn’s Host Special on EA. Enjoy and we’ll return with a new episode next week. For decades, gamers have joked that the real gaming villain isn’t Ganon, Bowser, or The Illusive Man…it’s Electronic Arts. The studio-shuttering, loot-box-pioneering, “surprise mechanics”-defending corporate monolith that somehow became the symbol of everything broken in modern gaming. How did that reputation happen? Does EA actually deserve the crown? In this episode of Innside Stories, Joce takes a deep dive into the rise (and repeated falls) of EA, from its idealistic origins championing “Electronic Artists,” to the studio graveyard it left behind, to the crunch culture exposed by the EA Spouse letter, to the Maxis and Spore disasters, all the way to their $55 billion Saudi-led buyout in 2025. If you’ve ever wondered how EA became gaming’s favourite villain, or whether they ever truly were, this one’s for you! Each month, we alternate posting a Host Special, focusing on personal experiences, our favourite games, or just stories that peaked our interest. If you’d like to receive these monthly specials and other Patreon bonuses, consider becoming a Patron of The Gamers’ Inn. Thank you for the support! Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With our first episode of 2026, we catch up on what we’ve been playing over the holidays, and what we’ve built! Kicking things off, Ryan received the LEGO Game Boy for Christmas and describes this epic throwback build. Jocelyn picked up many games in the Steam Winter Sale, but starts with Strange Antiquities and Wanderstop. Before moving to the news, Ryan gives us an update on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. In the news, Ubisoft has closed a studio that unionized just a month before, PlayStation patents an AI Assist that could play games for you, and The Witcher 3 could receive a new expansion 11 years after release. Discussion 00:00:00 - LEGO Game Boy 00:18:55 - Strange Antiquities 00:25:12 - Wanderstop 00:38:41 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 00:54:16 - News Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We close out 2025 with our Games of the Year episode! Kicking things off, we go over our Top 5, followed by Honourable Mentions. After the break, we chat about the Games We Missed in a VERY busy year of video games. Finally for us, it’s our Most Anticipated video game of 2026. Closing out the show, we highlight some Listener Picks. Thank you so much to those that submitted their picks in the Discord, and thank you to all our listeners in 2025. Here’s to next year being an excellent year of video games once again! Discussion 00:00:00 - Sorry Bloodlines 2 00:06:16 - Top 5 00:46:56 - Honourable Mentions 01:17:46 - Games We Missed 01:29:08 - Most Anticipated 01:32:37 - Listener Picks Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With The Game Awards behind us for yet another year, we take some time to discuss the winners and the ads. But first, we have games we played to discuss! Ryan has finally started his journey in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, while both Joce and Ryan played PlateUp! With Travis and Nevermore on our latest Extra Life stream. Inspired by the Best Adaptation category at The Game Awards, Jocelyn watched Until Dawn. Over in the news, we have the winners and the ads from The Game Awards, plus another unionization effort under Xbox Studios, this time from the makers of DOOM. Discussion 00:00:00 - Until Dawn Movie 00:15:24 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 00:28:53 - PlateUp! + Extra Life 00:35:25 - The Game Awards + News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With days before The Game Awards, we're in a weird limbo of game announcements, but not to worry as we have plenty of fun games to discuss! But first, a movie based on a game: Five Nights at Freddy's. Next, Jocelyn completes her adventures in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in preparation for our own GOTY episode. Finally in what we're playing, Ryan shares his thoughts on Constance, a new metroidvania with some very welcome accessibility options. Over in the news, Bad Robot Game Studios is partnering with Sony for their game, Bethesda finds YET ANOTHER platform to release Skyrim on, and Netflix hand waves away the game studios as part of their acquisition plans for Warner Bros. Discussion 00:00:00 - Five Nights at Freddy's Movie 00:22:21 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 00:38:46 - Constance 00:55:26 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a week off, the innkeepers return to catch up on the games they've played over the last two weeks. Jocelyn prepares for GOTY with her time in Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. Both Ryan and Jocelyn recount the latest TGI Game Night with Rabbit and Steel. And Ryan delves deep into the dungeons of Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, which is now available in Early Access. Over in the news, Valve confirms the Steam Machine will not be priced like a console, Far Cry is getting a TV adaptation at FX, CD Projekt Red has big plans for the next Witcher trilogy, and Paramount has another Sonic Universe movie for 2028. Discussion 00:00:00 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 00:32:24 - Rabbit and Steel 00:37:58 - Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault 00:49:41 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dispatch is fully available with all 8 episodes playable, so Ryan and Jocelyn share their thoughts on Season 1 of this comic book hero adventure. Want more Dispatch? Be sure to join our TGI Game Club starting this Sunday in Discord where we’ll be playing one episode a week. Over in the news, we’ve got new trailers for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Fallout Season 2, plus Nintendo shares first images from The Legend of Zelda movie. Moving back to actual video games, Sony and NCSoft announce a mobile focused Horizon MMO, and Valve announces new hardware for early 2026! Discussion 00:00:00 - Dispatch (minor spoilers) 00:44:41 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Extra Life Game Day behind us, we recap the fun filled day. From Fortnite to Smite 2, and new favourites PEAK and R.E.P.O. Thank you to all that showed your support for this amazing cause! Over in the news, Netflix is making an Overcooked reality series, N7 Day brings news of new Mass Effect for video games and the small screen, Nintendo confirms their release cadence for future movie projects, and Nintendo teases an Ocarina of Time LEGO set. Discussion 00:00:00 - Extra Life Game Day Recap 00:33:21 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan has rolled credits on Hades II, which means our spoiler episode will be coming soon. Plus Ryan travels back to 2009 thanks to Plants vs Zombies Replanted. Jocelyn brings a Fortnite update that brings Springfield to the popular battle royale mode. Over in the news, Animal Crossing New Horizons will receive a free update and Nintendo Switch 2 version in January, Fantastic Pixel Castle confirms it will shut down on November 17th, and the US patent office will take another look at a patent from Nintendo. Discussion 00:00 - Hades II Update 10:32 - Plants vs Zombies Replanted 22:14 - The Simpsons in Fortnite + Extra Life 26:42 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A spooky episode number for a spooky season, but are we playing spooky games? Turns out not so much, unless you count PEAK with the AvenDaDs for Extra Life. We kick off the show with a slight Hades II update, as Ryan has managed to progress a bit further towards credits. We also get an update on PEAK as Ryan and the AvenDaDs returned to the game for their Extra Life event. Over in the news, Halo jumps to PlayStation in 2026, the next Xbox is likely to be a console/PC hybrid, and Amazon Games layoff 14,000 employees and ceases their MMO development. Discussion Start - Intro and Hades II Update 20:36 - The PEAK AvenDaDs 30:02 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We kick off the show with Jocelyn’s thoughts on maybe playing Bloodlines 2, then dive straight into our latest TGI Game Night with R.E.P.O. Afterwards, Ryan shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of Dispatch, which is out now. Over in the news, Quantic Dream takes on competitive multiplayer games with Spellcasters Chronicles, Sony reveals when to expect that Horizon Zero Dawn movie thanks to a lawsuit filing, and Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble devs vote to unionize. Discussion Start - Bloodlines 2 Reviews 9:56 - R.E.P.O. 24:56 - Dispatch 39:10 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ridiculous Hat is back yet again for Hades II, and this time we don't hold back on that deep dive we promised. The conversation is split into two parts, with the first keeping spoilers to a minimum and focusing on the mechanics and gameplay, while the second part goes further into spoilers. Should be noted though: Jocelyn has finished the game, but Hat and Ryan have not, so the ending is not discussed (a spoilercast is already planned when credits roll for all). Over in the news, A Minecraft Movie sequel is set for July 2027, and reports suggest a next generation PlayStation and Xbox will be due in 2027. Discussion Start - Hades II (Minimal spoilers) 54:50 - Hades II (Spoilers, but not of the ending) 1:29:23 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ridiculous Hat returns to the Inn for what was going to be a Hades II deep dive, but with Jocelyn off sick, we delay that chat to talk about how there’s too many games. Hat keeps us from diving too far into Hades II, before chatting about finishing Hollow Knight: Silksong, all the cool ninja games, Legends of Runeterra, and the last DLC for Rise of the Golden Idol. Over in the news, Microsoft chooses to shoot itself in the business again with Game Pass changes, Unity needs you to update your Unity games, and Amazon Prime Gaming shifts over to Luna. Discussion Start - Hades II 6:27 - Hollow Knight: Silksong 28:20 - Ninja Indies and Too Many Games 41:13 - Legends of Runeterra and Rise of the Golden Idol DLC 45:51 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we were off last week, Jocelyn played A LOT of Hades II. But that's for next week with special guest Ridiculous Hat. For this episode, Jocelyn hangs up her cloak on Hollow Knight: Silksong while Ryan continues to find the fun. Also on Ryan's gaming plate is a second helping of Frostpunk 2 with it's console edition. Wrapping up the games they're playing, Ryan and Jocelyn recap TGI Game Night with PEAK. Over in the news, PlayStation showcases some heavy hitters for 2026, EA goes private, and Palworld takes on Animal Crossing. Discussion Start - More Hades II Next Week 8:24 - Hollow Knight: Silksong 26:01 - Frostpunk 2 Console Edition 41:24 - PEAK 48:40 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan and Jocelyn are still making their way through Hollow Knight: Silksong, which has led Steam to think Joce has a new favourite genre. To balance the algorithm, Jocelyn checks out Little Witch in the Woods. Ryan on the other hand returns to Donkey Kong Bananza after that DLC announcement. Speaking of which, Nintendo dropped it's largest Nintendo Direct in a long time, detailing titles for Switch 1 and 2 releasing into 2026. Finally, we offer our thoughts on The Witcher Season 4 teaser trailer from Netflix. Discussion Start - Hollow Knight: Silksong 16:35 - Little Witch in the Woods 22:33 - Donkey Kong Banaza 32:54 - News Extra Life is back! Check out the team or donate by going to tiny.cc/tgiextralife. Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan and Jocelyn check out the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, discussing our first steps in the game. From combat to exploration, and of course the difficulty of some of those bosses, platforming sections, and bench runs. Over in the news, Amazon has their new Lara Croft with Sophie Turner, and PlayStation 6 rumours point to the return of a detachable disc drive. Discussion Start - Hollow Knight: Silksong 46:50 - News Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We return after vacation to catch up on the video games and video game experiences we’ve been enjoying. Ryan travels back from The Minecraft Experience in Toronto, while also herding calicorns in Herdling. Jocelyn discovers the Anno franchise with Anno 1800, and then jumps into Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge which is a cozy frog sanctuary game. Over in the news, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally has release details and Perfect Dark almost had another chance. Discussion Start - The Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue 19:46 - Anno 1800 27:51 - Herdling 35:15 - Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge 45:54 - News Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan and Jocelyn return with plenty of Gamescom Opening Night Live to catch up on, but before that we have updates on some video games we’re playing. Ryan finishes up Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound while Jocelyn continues to date all the things in Date Everything! What’s new this week is Jocelyn is playing Is This Seat Taken?, a new logic puzzle game on Steam. In other news, Nintendo talks about Kirby Air Rides for 45 minutes, we have our first teaser for Fallout Season 2, and Bioshock’s future has some ups and downs. Discussion Start - Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound 15:47 - Date Everything! 28:50 - Is This Seat Taken? 37:43 - News Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jocelyn decides to return to the dating simulator world with Date Everything! While Ryan goes back in time to the era of 2D side scrolling action games with the throwback title Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. As promised, we go over the payment processors vs NSFW content story (see Brad and Will Make a Tech Pod 298 for some more conversation on the topic). In other news, ID checks are coming to GTA VI, Nintendo hosts an Indie World Showcase (no Silksong), and Nintendo announces the My Mario range of products. Discussion Start - Date Everything! 37:29 - Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound 50:09 - News Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan kicks off the show with more to share from Donkey Kong Bananza, while Jocelyn returns to Lord of the Rings games with Tales of the Shire. Over in the news, Microsoft back pedals in desperate need of a good news story, Amazon has all the video game TV adaptations, and Darksiders 4 delivers on a promise over a decade in the making. Discussion Start - Donkey Kong Bananza 20:07 - Tales of the Shire 42:55 - Tabletop Simulator: Frosthaven 47:44 - News Important Stuff Support us on Patreon Discord Channel Email the show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.