The King is Watching

Eye see you! This week we gaze upon the wonder of The King is Watching: the kingdom management and goblin horde bashing simulator with a twist - your workers are only productive when you’re watching them. Kind of like being in the office and having your boss fly by your desk twice a day… An artistic feast with a deep level of meta-progression, try to survive wave after wave of horrid beasts and giant horrors from attacking your peaceful castle through the use of magic spells, special king-based powers, and however many magic unicorns you can summon to your defense. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:43 - Game stats 3:33 - One sentence description 7:55 - First impressions & tutorial system discussion 11:52 - Advisor Gustav & art design appreciation 17:13 - Prophecy system & wave difficulty selection mechanics 22:29 - Meta progression & strategy optimization criticism 26:59 - Unit types & army composition limitations 33:31 - King vision patterns & strategic differences 39:10 - Building upgrade systems & RNG concerns 45:35 - Battlefield mechanics & spell interactions 55:14 - Spell system effectiveness & boss strategies 58:29 - Meta progression pacing & king unlock issues 1:05:54 - UI problems & upgrade tree navigation confusion 1:15:45 - Music quality & overall game polish 1:14:54 - Rankings and final thoughts 1:20:49 - Similar games and show wind-down Next episode: Hero’s Hour Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Gene Ammons - Someone to Watch Over Me Outro music: The King is Watching OST - 002B Village A

Praise the Sun! The Nightlords have invaded the world of Elden Ring and it’s up to you and your trusty co-op Nightfarers to stop them. The biggest roguelike game of 2025 so far, lauded developer FromSoftware’s latest entry takes a stark departure from previous games in the Dark Souls series at a blistering pace. Featuring gigantic bird-man, big-hat sorceress, acrobatic bow boy, yelling drunken pirate, angry Sekiro dog-man, sassy child, French fencer, and John Nightreign himself toting a grappling hook and arm cannon, Elden Ring Nightreign drops you into a wild hybrid of Soulsbourne combat with bosses and enemies drawn from across the series. Listen in as we drop into Limveld from our bird-based battle busses. “Don’t give up, skeleton!” “At last, Fort…Night!” Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:40 - Game stats 4:44 - One sentence description 6:22 - Hosts’ backgrounds with Dark Souls games 11:13 - Nightreign as departure from traditional Souls formula 21:21 - Game announcement reactions & initial confusion 25:26 - Launch reception & Steam review progression 31:59 - Tutorial walkthrough & first boss encounter 39:26 - Multiverse concept & boss selection choices 43:10 - Round Table Hold hub world navigation 44:16 - Character classes & special abilities overview 54:50 - Remembrance quest system mechanics & issues 1:05:44 - Relic system & meta progression discussion 1:18:45 - Map exploration & routing strategies 1:28:49 - Castle exploration & difficulty scaling 1:41:17 - Boss fights & Nightlord encounters 1:56:01 - Upcoming “Deep of the Night” DLC details 2:06:46 - Rankings and final thoughts 2:22:55 - Similar games and show wind-down Next episode: The King Is Watching Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: In the Still of the Night - Oscar Peterson Outro music: Caligo, Miasma of Night - Nightreign OST

It belongs in a museum! For our listener request week and the landmark 75th episode, we cover one of the foundational early roguelikes with Spelunky! Released in 2012 on the Xbox Live Arcade as a full-scale HD remaster of the 2008 freeware hit, Spelunky marked the watershed moment of stealing fire from the Berlin Roguelike gods and applying it to platformers. It’s undeniable legacy looms large, but does the nostalgia factor still stand strong? Will the hosts go hollow trying to make THIS one THE run? I mean, even the great Liz Mutton had to fall on a spike or two, right? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:10 - game stats 4:35 - one sentence description 6:14 - Thesis about Spelunky as definitive video game 8:14 - Historical context of roguelike games pre-Spelunky 11:20 - Game difficulty and bounce-off rates discussion 16:14 - Comparing Spelunky difficulty to Dark Souls games 19:35 - Standard run walkthrough and tutorial explanation 28:47 - Controls mastery and engagement requirements 36:25 - Biome progression and level design philosophy 43:07 - Shopkeeper mechanics and vindictive AI behavior 54:02 - Olmec boss fight and final temple challenges 1:06:53 - Hell runs and eggplant challenge explanation 1:28:57 - Spelunky 2 comparison and sequel discussion 1:31:30 - Community feedback and player perspectives 1:41:11 - rankings and final thoughts 1:53:06 - similar games Next episode: Elden Ring Nightreign Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Herbie Hancock - Thieves in the Temple Outro music: Eirik Suhrke - Temple A

My kingdom for a horse! This week we play the minimalist, yet deceptively deep tower defense strategy roguelite Kingdom: New Lands. This one-dimensional game is anything but as we dive deep into advanced peasant managing strategy not seen since Warcraft. You have crash landed on an island and must lead it to survival against greedy forest dwelling goblins. Your royal rule by hurling coins at downtrodden beggars is the only thing that stands between you and sailing off into the sunset with your pet wolf and whatever knights you may have paid handsomely to protect you. What else awaits your majesty on the wavey shores to come? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:20 - game stats 3:02 - one sentence description 5:17 - Basic gameplay mechanics and controls explanation 8:40 - Game’s origins as Flash project for horse animations 11:25 - Tutorial experience and early game confusion 17:27 - Death mechanics and learning curve discussion 24:56 - Attack patterns and timing strategies 29:25 - Frustration with long run times and restarts 36:29 - Wiki usage debate and game inscrutability 44:10 - Blood moon mechanics and visual/audio cues 54:27 - Farming mechanics and builder management confusion 59:03 - Game’s difficulty scaling and strategic depth 1:07:48 - Portal mechanics and teleportation discovery 1:15:20 - rankings and final thoughts 1:25:03 - similar games Next episode: Spelunky Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Harold Land - Lands End Outro music: Amos Roddy - Meadow

Jammin! Summer jammin, that is. Our mid-year summer break featuring the best of roguelike and roguelite music returns featuring some really old games and some really big budget scores. Featuring artists ranging from Makeup & Vanity Set, Noisestorm, Mili, OC Remixers, and shirtless indie devs weilding spears and axes, you have 2 hours of solid roguelike tunes to blast on the UE4 rendered crab rave beach. We’ll turn the clocks backward (as well as our baseball hats) and revisit some certified classics while also shredding and shedding some light on some lesser known titles. A talking-free version of all the tracks featured today can be found on our youtube playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ShOmyMvd4iiH7UO17MilF87AkzdDG2a Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 00:00 - Azure Dreams GBC - Title Theme 04:08 - Cave Noire - Combat Dungeon 09:49 - Toejam & Earl - Toejam Jammin’ 17:12 - Fatal Labyrinth - Floors 1-9 21:29 - Tangledeep - Mysteries of Time 30:10 - Moonring - Angels 37:33 - UnReal World - Outro Theme 45:45 - Noita - Beat of the Kosmos 51:18 - Diablo - Tristram 1:02:14 - Shogun Showdown - Hibiku Wastelands 1:08:34 - AK-xolotl - Sakura Pink Inferno 1:13:02 - Quasimorph - Storm of the Formorians 1:19:46 - Roboquest - Metal Hero 1:24:48 - Crypt of the Necrodancer - Mausoleum Mash 1:31:46 - Brigador - Solo Nobre Must Fall 1:38:55 - Synthetik - Hypernoma 1:44:37 - Crab Champions - Ace 1:49:33 - Library of Ruina - String Theocracy 1:56:45 - Slay the Spire - Battle with the Champ 2:03:51 - Show wind down and next episode preview mystery track! Next episode: Clues in the final outro song for this! Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone

The pen is mightier than the sword! This week we crack open that new book smell with a first edition copy of Vellum: the third-person literary hack-and-slash game. We navigate the maze-like stacks, pet some colorful wolf friends, and talk about how many puns is TOO many for understanding a game properly. Don’t be quick to judge a book by it’s steam store page! There’s plenty of spells and quills and swords, but remember: A game a lone a last a loved a long the- Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:22 - game stats 2:50 - one sentence description 6:47 - Hub world complexity and literary theming commitment 12:37 - Overly complex terminology and ability descriptions 19:04 - Enemy design and literary theme implementation 25:33 - “One more run” phenomenon and replay motivation 29:17 - Positive aspects including UI and visual effects 33:00 - Inscription system and meta progression mechanics 38:26 - Vignette encounters and their effectiveness debate 42:54 - Tome selection system and special level rules 48:07 - Progression gating and attunement level complaints 55:39 - End game content and endless mode discussion 1:01:29 - Boss strategy discovery and magical lamp exploit 1:14:13 - rankings and final thoughts 1:22:08 - similar games 1:24:50 - listener correspondence: does the GROGPOD need a public discord channel? Next episode: 2025 Summer Music Fest Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: My Little Brown Book - Duke Ellington, John Coltrane Outro music: Vellum OST - Boss Battle

Dat ain’t Falco! This week we wavedash into Spiritfall: the platformer beat-em-up with strong influence from the Super Smash Brothers series as well as Hades. The Blight has taken over the lands and your mysterious animal gods have tasked you, the Omenforged, to beat them back. With an array of weapons ranging from an axe-hammer to a scythe that transforms into a baseball bat, join us as we down-smash, L-cancel, and neutral-air our way across deserts, jungles, frozen wastelands, and all the way up to the source of the Blight itself! No Johns in this episode, we promise. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 2:04 - game stats 3:16 - one sentence description 5:57 Story Overview 8:58 Controls & Tutorial Complexity 12:46 Smash Bros Experience & Wave Dashing 18:10 Combat Mechanics & Arena Types 25:44 Generic Terminology & Art Style 32:38 Comparison to Dead Cells & Boss Fights 39:31 Map Navigation & Decision Making 50:39 Story Completion & Meta Progression 57:28 Hypothetical Smash Bros Crossover 1:22:39 - rankings and final thoughts 1:34:52 - similar games Next episode: Vellum (for real this time) Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Charles Mingus - Mood Indigo Outro music: Spiritfall OST - The Frigid Veil

Day 967… This week we unlock the enigmatic puzzle adventure / drunken architect simulator Blue Prince! Your wealthy great uncle has left you his strange estate for you to claim as your own, only if you can unravel the mysteries that lie within. I see a black cat with a red flag… pawns among bishops… ChatGPT solving wild word puzzles… IQ bending logical mysteries and more! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:04 - game stats 2:33 - one sentence description 4:07 - Spoiler-Free Initial Impressions 9:00 - Multi-Brain Gaming & Spoiler Transition 10:37 - Puzzle Spoilers & Game Mechanics 16:11 - Story Setup & Opening Cinematics 22:13 - Room Drawing Mechanics & RNG 29:05 - Foundation Room & Basement Mechanics 34:13 - Puzzle Solutions & External Help 40:43 - Digital Journal Critique & Comparison to Other Games 50:35 - Board Game vs Video Game Format 55:27 - Specific Gameplay Elements 1:03:02 - Game Design Analysis & Improvements 1:20:26 - listener letter on game pricing 1:29:00 - rankings and final thoughts 1:41:26 - similar games Next episode: Spiritfall (due to last second schedule change after the recording) Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Dave Brubeck Quartet - Someday My Prince Will Come Outro music: Trigg & Gusset - Bequest

Draw! This week we go akimbo with two high-caliber games between the college project wild west themed deckbuilding hit Forty-Five and an Estonian Eurotrance solo dev effort in Buckshot Roulette! We’ll spin the barrel on what makes a free game good, if board games are roguelites (because what isn’t at this rate?) and whether or not we fired six shots, or only five. Are you feeling lucky enough to go double or nothing? Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:38 - Forty-Five game stats 4:46 - Forty-Five in one sentence 5:40 - Forty-Five general discussion 39:29 - Buckshot Roulette game stats 43:14 - Buckshot Roulette in one sentence and general discussion 1:07:42 - rankings and final thoughts 1:17:00 - similar games Next episode: Blue Prince Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Mark Lewis - Ghost of a Chance Outro music: Mike Klubnika - General Release

O, glorious roguelikes! Listener request week returns with a recent hit in the traditional rogue sphere: Path of Achra. A Bronze-Age, Zoroastrian-inspired synergy simulator of brutal combat and Conan-like mythological flavor, Path of Achra brings us a menagerie of unique themes and playstyles ranging from dancing swordsmen, to telporting dreamer mages, to giant stone tank warriors, and of course: brutal naked apes. Escape the rising tides to The Obelisk and seek the stars, O Pilgrim! Struggler of the trench of slaughter. Praise Humbaba! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:45 - game stats 2:32 - one sentence description from the community 5:17 - how do you play this game? 1:17:16 - rankings and final thoughts 1:27:50 - similar games Next episode: Forty-Five Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Theo Croker - Imperishable Star Outro music: Path of Achra OST