Forty-Five / Buckshot Roulette

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

Can you imagine a dystopian world where overlords are oppressing you through communication networks? Where your friends skitter in the shadows to sell you trinkets and spikes erupt through the floor to maim you? We’re talking Reignbreaker this week, not your average trip downtown in 2025. The recently released Hades-inspired action game puts you in control of muscle mommy Clef as she seeks to break the reign of the Queen of Keys. An interesting blend of javelin throwing, fist punching mayhem, join us as we each try as strained of a Cockney accent we can muster and free our dear rat friends. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:10 - game stats 3:25 - one sentence description 29:28 - our story begins 1:10:55 - rankings and final thoughts 1:17:54 - similar games Next episode: Path of Achra Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Pat Metheny - Calvin’s Keys Outro music: Djerv - Reignbreaker

Ordo ab Cubo! It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there so what better way to celebrate than with Cube Chaos? The solo-dev effort of thousands of different units, synergies, and mayhem all warring in a hybrid RTS auto-battler filled with arena destruction, lasers, ants, stomach acid, warrior plants, snow knights, and yes repli-crabs. A truly unique experience, come listen to how its maybe was TOO unique for some of us, while the others frantically battle waves of clay anomalies and curious moils! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:23 - game stats 2:14 - one sentence description 23:20 - our story begins… actually what IS this game? 1:11:03 - community correspondence 1:15:16 - rankings and final thoughts 1:25:32 - similar games 1:28:19 - listener letter and listener request week! Next episode: Reignbreaker Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Dave Brubeck - Autumn in Washington Square Outro music: Cube Chaos OST

The club of overwhelmingly positive roguelike deckbuilders is a small one, but bolstered with Diceomancer! The late 2024 release features a unique mechanic of allowing you to re-roll any number you see on the screen. Just imagine being able to re-roll your podcast subscriber amount from 6 to 14! The possibilities are limitless in this Cozy Vibes(tm) aesthetic where you can finally exact your revenge on all those geese that have hissed at you on the park bench with an infinitely reloading crossbow. Exactly what those noodle neck monsters deserve for delaying your fishing trip! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:49 - game stats 3:30 - one sentence description 13:26 - our story and tutorial begins 1:15:08 - rankings and final thoughts 1:22:36 - similar games Next episode: Cube Chaos Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Sun Ra - Purple Night Blues Outro music: Diceomancer OST - The Woods

You have angered the gods! Listener request week returns with a Holy Mountain of Finnish roguelike games - Noita: the platformer where every pixel is either on fire, radioactive, glowing with mana, or doused in whiskey. Developed by an Avengers-level collection of devs from Crayon Physics Deluxe, The Swapper, Baba Is You, and others, Noita starts with a bang. Be it the bangs from the exploding environment, banging your head against the wand and spell system, or the banging soundtrack, this one is certain to polymorph you into a fan. Or a sheep with devil wings, which is taxonomically the same thing. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:41 - game stats 4:02 - one sentence description 23:38 - our story begins and spoiler alert warning 1:22:35 - rankings and final thoughts 1:33:04 - similar games Next episode: Diceomancer Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: The Five Corners Quintet - The Devil Kicks Outro music: Noita OST - Daddy Long-Leg’s Surprise

Ah… I can see into your mind… So you like mystery dungeons? You like obscure JRPGs don’t you? Psycho Mantis can see that you enjoy Konami games, which is why we’re talking Azure Dreams! A 1990’s monster collecting game that was maybe too ahead of its time for its own good, we talk town building, relationship drama, the extreme price of eggs, and just what awaits us at the top of a 40-story monster tower. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:52 - game stats 6:42 - one sentence description 30:40 - our story begins 1:06:38 - !!spoiler alert!! top of the monster tower and ending 1:34:08 - community correspondence 1:42:57 - rankings and final thoughts 1:54:49 - similar games (thumbnail art by dhbs90) Next episode: Noita Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Cannonball Adderley - One Man’s Dream Outro music: Azure Dreams OST - Tower Theme No.1

This week in “wait, that’s not a roguelike!” we tackle the Souls-like shooter Remnant: From the Ashes! A lot of high-budget games that aren’t rogue-first have been coming out with rogue modes and Remnant is no exception with it’s DLC-based mode: Survival. Join us to complain about getting bodied by bosses, watching out for archers, and trying to figure out just how much chocolate you need in a cake before you call it a chocolate cake. Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 2:18 - game stats 3:54 - one sentence description 13:29 - our story begins 1:07:55 - community correspondence 1:16:04 - rankings and final thoughts 1:25:25 - similar games Next episode: Azure Dreams Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Kenny Dorham - I Had The Craziest Dream Outro music: Remnant OST - Black Wolf and Bloodshed