Hot Chat, Cold Names | The Grinding Gear Podcast #77

Dawntrail approaches. The table assembles.

Games! So many games. Three presentations worth of games to be exact. Sony State of Play, Xbox Showcase and Summer Games Fest have all cruised by and it’s time to review. Stand outs? The dregs? The ups the downs. Listen to find out. Will there be hat eating? Could be. 

The classic offline episode, with that classic vibe. We bring you limited stories from our absence, along with a helping of video game and movie news. Is war coming to the republic? Did you read that in a Clone Wars intro voice? Rumors circulate of a Total War Star Wars in production. Value won’t let you inherit a Steam account. Beetlejuice 2 makes us question the Burton evolution. Story time, emails and more.

Our guest today is an actor on stage, screen, and games. You may know him from Doctor Who, Leonardo, the brand new Hades 2, but if you’re watching this stream or listening to this podcast we would bet you know him as Alphinaud from Final Fantasy 14. Today we’re joined by Colin Ryan!

Stellar Blade may have been the jumping off point, but sexiness in games goes far beyond and much further back than the latest entry in skin-tight clad protagonists. On today's show we dive into our likes and dislikes about sex in games, the Helldivers 2 Sony PSN debacle, and take your questions live! Well, not live if you're listening to it now. But it was live. You get it... SupportOurBromance.com or Kyle will cosplay Quiet from MGS5.

After welcoming his third child into this world, Kyle has returned! Garrett catches up with Kyle and helps Kyle catch up on all of the things that he missed during his paternity leave. The new Fallout show, FFXIV Dawntrail drama, lots of baby sitting and birth stories, and of course… where babies come from? This episode goes places.

Marco returns to talk more than just music! Well of course music is also discussed. But Garrett and Marco talk shop about creating content for streams and Youtube, Honkai: Star Rail, Warframe, Helldiver 2, Final Fantasy 7, and the most underrated game soundtracks of all time.

Dawntrail is on its way! A release date has been announced for the upcoming Final Fantasy darling MMO. Garrett and Kyle give you the scoop to grind through your week. But first, Larian parts ways with the Hasbro juggernaut Dungeons and Dragons, to much celebration. Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't make the best first impression, but true fans are too busy playing. Will the League of Legends MMO ever release? All this and more.

Garrett returns from the Mountains of Wrestling. Kyle was here but survived his venture to buy Warhammer paints. Helldivers Devs lash back at players on Discord causing a comment drama. Garrett and Kyle discuss the huge influence Toriyama had on the anime medium as a whole and their exposure to Dragon Ball Z growing up. Are crossovers going too far?! Your emails and more.

Beau Schwartz returns to the Podcast. Now having long completed his Diablo 4 quest for statue fandom, we play a little game we like to call Hot TAKES with the help of the live chat. We also discuss Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (spoiler free), Helldivers, State of MMOs and streaming life.