Idle Weekend

Danielle and Rob are here, in Idle Weekend-land, a very good place, to discuss... The Good Place (spoilers abound), and many other games, shows, and movies that do twists well. Discussed: The Good Place, Mad Men, The Visit, Blade Runner, Momento, ...Show More

It’s been a little while since we Idle Weekended, but for good reason! Your fearless hosts have been going through some *life stuff* and playing games that help us cope. Get ready for some talk about comfort games, the place of challenge and difficul...Show More

We consider a favorite archetype of ours in sci-fi: the sensitive badass! Rob and Danielle talk gender in sci-fi, the ways in which Farscape and the Expanse rock our socks, and why Thor is a whole lot more awesome than Guardians of the Galaxy. Dis...Show More

It’s been too long, friends. But we have a solid, meaty Idle Weekend for you, ripe with discussions of long-running franchises we have a long relationship with, our trials in not ruining games for ourselves, and the utterly bananas part time work exp...Show More

On this belated episode of Idle Weekend (Danielle is sorry for the wait), we discuss the things that really just do it for us—and the alternative, the games that leave us cold. It’s a very hot and cold weekend here, just like real life! Sort of! D...Show More

Rob and Danielle take some time from playing the latest and greatest to do things they enjoy even more: play old games that actually scratch the right itches. It’s like 2007 all over again in here! Discussed: BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinit...Show More

Rob and Danielle regale one another with tales of TV shows (and movies, and books, and games!) that they weren't too keen on at first, but those frowns turned upside down with a little persistence. Discussed: Brooklyn 99, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Alter...Show More

This week, we welcome freelance writer Dia Lacina to the Idle Weekend world in order to discuss lesser entries in franchises or series that everyone shits on, but we love them. There’s a whole lot of Star Trek Talk in this one, a serious appreciation...Show More

What dark depths lie under bright futures we like to imagine? That, and other lofty questions, are addressed on this episode, where we look at the authoritarian side of the sci-fi we love, the colonialism of games we’re enjoying, and the very difficu...Show More

with copy! Idle Weekend 1/21/18 It’s Back, Baby! This weekend, we talk about what it takes to make a game come back into the conversation, even if it’s just our little corner of the internet. It’s because we have a little Bloodborne on the brain, an...Show More

This weekend, we extol the virtues of consoles and games that change our relationship to games, in honor of Rob’s newfound love of the Nintendo Switch. We also get into some good questions about gender stereotypes and game preferences, and profess a ...Show More

In the extreme(ly bad) weather, it’s important to note one thing: we all have to work together to survive. Hence, we recount our favorite games and movies with extreme weather, from the comfort of our snowed-in houses. Discussed: Max Payne, The G...Show More

The Idle Weekenders bid this crappy year adieu with the help of friend and colleague Cameron Kunzelman. They talk home settings in games, from the cozy confines of Stardew Valley’s quaint town, to the too-millennial aspirations of later Sims, to the ...Show More

Rob and Danielle survived a truly, comically terrible fall to podcast again! We chat about the too-realness of Night in the Woods, going home for the holidays, and the games and movies that have made the last few months vaguely tolerable. Merry Holid...Show More

Rob and Danielle both had delightful woodland experiences to recount this weekend, as well as stories about gaming happy places (like Prey) and a beloved movie—Blade Runner. The first one. Don't worry, we'll talk about the new Blade Runner soon! D...Show More

Sometimes, you have to pay to play. Danielle returns from glorious Scotland to regale Rob with tales of sightseeing, martial arts, and Mario Vs. Rabbids, while Rob has many vacation tales of his own, including the time he was too tall to ride Space M...Show More

Idle Weekend is back! After a too-long lapse where PAX happened and we all worked too much, Rob and Danielle return to what they know best: talking about Star Trek, Farscape, and immersive sims. After a riveting discussion of criminally under-utilize...Show More

In this fine installment of Idle Weekend, we get really excited about (GOTY) Prey, the finest damned immersive sim this side of the solar system. Rob has finished it, and we spoil the hell out of the ending. We also talk about fun sleepover games: th...Show More

In honor of the Mooch, we go through our gaming torrid affairs: games we had a very brief, very intense love affair with. Sometimes, these things just don't work out. Discussed: Kingdom, No Man's Sky, Empire: Total War, Mass Effect 3, What Remains...Show More

This weekend, we wade into the game engine kerfuffle with opinions, context, and that characteristic Idle Weekend spice. Then, we go hard into a discussion of weekend projects, with action movies, professional wrestling, and combat sports. Like you d...Show More

Rob and Danielle meet for an overdue weekend after a Rob's cross-country move. Rob's been getting re-acclimated by playing a lot of MLB The Show 17 and discovers it's like watching baseball with a cool, knowledgeable friend. But a discussion of sport...Show More

We survived E3! That's reason enough to do a horror-themed episode this weekend, thanks to a nifty demo for Distrust. We take a lovely tour through some of our favorite, terrifying game experiences, with a light sprinkling of film. Then, we move on t...Show More

This weekend, we're all about going really fast in pretty places. We discuss our favorite racing games, spurned on by a couple of recent humdingers, Dirt 4 and Wipeout Omega Collection, and Rob's love of F1. Discussed: Wipeout Omega Collection, Di...Show More

This weekend, we decided to talk about hard-stops in games. The things that make us look a game in the face, in disbelief or exasperation, and break up with them on the spot. We also dig in on music we love in games, sexism in sports and action movie...Show More

This weekend, we are still obsessed with Prey, the Immersive Sim in Space that could. We also chat about other fine games: like Dishonored 2 and Deus Ex, and we close out with a discussion of TV shows we're not 100% sure we like—it sure is an Idle We...Show More

This episode is either really early, or really late, and either way, you can place the blame entirely on Prey for being so goddamned awesome. We talk Prey, space lesbians, immersive sims in general, and, a little more about problematic media! Cont...Show More

This weekend, we're talking about games that are old... but despite our approaching them with the trepidation befitting older, jankier software, they hold up like a dream. Elsewhere, we talk about difficult media (again, with a content warning for th...Show More

This weekend, we are exploring our other selves. Our gaming selves, silly, not some Jungian archetype business. When is role-playing not even really role-playing, but... something else entirely? Discussed:Expedition: Viking, Bloodborne, Dishonored...Show More

How much do game players know? Do they know things? Let's find out! We wade into a minor kerfuffle online about how much devs like to disclose about tech, and then, we dip into some serious territory in the weekend correspondence and projects. Ple...Show More

This weekend, we get good and mad about genres that just happen to be from the decade when we were kids/teens, that get stomped all over. Genres like the 3D platformer and the FMV. Why? Because some people on the internet are besmirching the good nam...Show More

Yes, this is something of a make-up episode, since we have been tardy lately. Comically so! But that won't stop us from discussing things that we stick with, even if we don't think they're super great. Related: we appreciate that YOU stick with ...Show More

Danielle would like to apologize for the tardiness of this episode. But! There is a lot of good stuff here, as we discuss games that have made us fall in love with the format all over again. It’s an all-gaming Idle Weekend! You can find Norco: Far...Show More

Both Rob and Danielle are playing a LOT of games: so many that there aren't even any letters in this episode. This week features a freewheeling discussion of Ghost Recon: Wildlands, genre-jumping in long-running franchises like Resident Evil and Zeld...Show More

It's a very special Idle Weekend, because, not only is Danielle at PAX, but Rob is finishing his first week as an editor at Waypoint! We talk PAX, open-world solutions and games that deal with death in this special, blitz-edition of the show. Note: p...Show More

Today, we are joined by Waypoint Editor in Chief, mech enthusiast and friend of the show Austin Walker, for a whopping 2+ hour idle weekend extravaganza. We talk deconstruction in games, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and The Wire, amongst other things. ...Show More

This weekend, we welcome special guest Evan Narcisse to the show, to talk comics, games and books. We're especially interested in conflict in games and comics that *doesn't* come from cartoon bad guys, but instead, a slightly more realistic—and compl...Show More

This weekend, we talk about our fatal flaws in gaming: sometimes, we need to learn to just use our goddamn BFGs. In other media, we're both digging Legion, and the violent stylings of one John Wick. Discussed: Hearts of Iron IV, Doom, Dark Souls I...Show More

This weekend, we get too real about aging, athleticism, and the brutal pain of stat decay, in games and in real life. But don't worry, we manage to have some fun too. And we apologize for the lower-than-usual sound quality—to make up for it, there's ...Show More

It's time to talk Batman! Well, sort of. Rob is having second thoughts about Batman: Arkham Origins, which prompts a discussion on games that give a very particular kind of feedback during play. Also, Superman Returns is an underrated movie. Discu...Show More

Rob is protesting the unlawful executive order on travelers from Muslim countries, so I'm doing a short mailbag episode centered on self-care and giving yourself the space you need to get through the damned day. Keep Weekending, friends. Discussed...Show More

Games are fun to play and all, but watching—that's where it's at. At least, for some games. This weekend, we're all about the spectator sports, from speedrunning to Hitmanning to eSporting. Discussed: StarCraft, Overwatch, League of Legends, MMA, ...Show More

There's a lot of existential dread in the world right now, and I think we're all feeling it. It even seeps into our favorite escape, in the form of choice paralysis and gaming guilt. Things get REAL in this episode, about our lives, the place of game...Show More

This weekend, we chatted about the worst—and best—frustrations we've experienced in games, inspired by recent explorations of the great-but-so-unpolished The Last Guardian. Control schemes, systems running beneath the hood, and talk of movies loved a...Show More

This weekend, we're talking about self-care games: what we play when we need to chill out, ease our anxieties and have a breather. So what do we like best? Catching em' all, shooting zombies, and just taking off in a beautiful car, man.

The Weekenders are here to wish you a very merry Whatever You Celebrate! And also, to count down their most favorite games of 2016. Enjoy! Discussed: Homeworld: Deserts of Karak, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Dishonored 2, Overwatch, Hearts of Iron IV, Com...Show More

Danielle apologizes for making this episode more of an Idle Monday than an Idle Weekend. Even though we're late, we have an exciting episode for you, as we examine the constant reinterpretation of popular characters in our own modern mythologies. The...Show More

It's a ridiculous holiday season, which means Danielle is doing a dip into the ol' mailbag before going on her merry way. Don't worry, Rob will be back next weekend for more adventures! A quick note: Audio quality isn't up to our usual standards t...Show More

This weekend, we're talking about the pleasure and queasy terror of games that make us want to find every last drop of #content. Based on our Dishonored 2 and Mafia 3 experiences, and the horrible FOMO feelings that we carry, we need a little help.

It's a holiday weekend! Which means we're finally getting to catch up with our beloved games, including Dishonored 2, which everyone is currently enjoying like a fine Karcannan Plantain, heaped upon a golden plate. We're also ready to feast upon a pl...Show More

Hey listeners! This was the first Idle Weekend episode we recorded after the 2016 presidential election, and we talk about politics, a lot. But, instead of cutting bits and pieces, we elected (ha!) to keep it all in, to give you an open, honest conve...Show More

We recorded this weekend's episode before the election, so there is little talk of presidential politics and despair this time around. But we do talk about games that we really love, and want to advocate for. It's a healing salve for things that ail ...Show More

A very tired Danielle and a Halloween-spirited Rob come together to discuss marathon gaming. Nothing is finer (or more rare) than this most exquisite of pleasures: the ability to sink hours and hours into an all-encompassing game. Whether discussing ...Show More

Danielle is streaming for 72 hours straight, so we're playing a trick (or treat) on you this Halloween Weekend: by offering you our never-before-heard Halloween test episode from last year. Marvel at our hot SOMA talk. Shiver as we discuss horror in ...Show More

Sit down, friends. It's time for a frank chat about expectations, marketing hype, and why Nintendo keeps naming things so... sexy... this fall. Then we SWITCH over to a robust mailbag, and a little tour of great American cities. Don't forget to give ...Show More

Danielle brings aboard friend of the show Amanda Cosmos for a very special Idle Weekend from a tiny cabin in Ticonderoga, New York! Since we recorded in less-than-ideal conditions, sound quality is somewhat reduced, but that didn't stop us from discu...Show More

We're going to some scary places this weekend on the show. The dark hearts of our friends, playing Subterfuge. The streets of Mafia III's New Bordeaux. The Idle Weekend inbox, after dissing magical realism last week. But don't worry, friends! We brou...Show More

We're discussing the phenomenon of the ever-game this weekend, including the curious case of Destiny, a game that is good—but never too good. We also have our fun with low-budget Canadian science fiction, the secret best export of our northern neighb...Show More

It's September, the official wacky fall release season, but that doesn't mean that the weekenders are enjoying the harvest's AAA bounty. No, space-y indies, Destiny and a very special, monstrous art exhibit are on our minds as we embark upon pumpkin ...Show More

The Weekenders are joined by special guest Alexis Kennedy, co-founder of Failbetter games (creators of Idle Weekend GOTY contender Sunless Sea), who came by to chat about writing good player-created characters, his work on Stellaris, and a bit about ...Show More

The Weekenders take a brief moment to marvel at the PS4 Pro, a system that promises 4k graphics, but only to those who possess the K power of EIGHT MILLION PIXELS. Then it's on to a robust mailbag, a pair of gritty movies, and a weekend well-deserved...Show More

With Danielle at PAX and Rob buried under a mountain of work, Danielle goes it alone and presents another short mailbag episode. But never fear! There's talk of Alien 3, sentimental memories with loved ones, and sports anime aplenty, enough to hold u...Show More

It's an all-sci-fi extravaganza this weekend, as your hosts ponder the curious hype of No Man's Sky, the smaller scale of corporate space exploration depression sim Corpse of Discovery, and the beautiful weirdness of The Order: 1886. And enjoy a mass...Show More

It's a detail-oriented weekend for your hosts, who spent this episode delving into the mysteries of the Whorfian hypothesis, their gaming compulsions, and the beauty and flaws of The Magicians. On that note, don't play racing sims without getting a n...Show More

This weekend, it's a topical blend of No Man's Sky, the challenges of historically and racially conscious art, and bike anime! So, another typical episode with your weekenders-in-chief. Danielle is enamored by the dizzying scale of No Man's Sky, whil...Show More

This weekend, we take a trip to our favorite game worlds: places we want to go back to, places that opened our eyes, places that might have been "better" than the games they supported. Elsewhere, Danielle reads about a radical future and Rob goes bac...Show More

With the release of Blendo Games' Quadrilateral Cowboy, the Weekenders are once again enamored with all things hacking. Danielle expounds upon the virtues of heist-by-deck, while Rob ponders the power fantasy of becoming a god among machines. Elsewhe...Show More

This weekend, Danielle and Rob ponder what it is to be a "finished" game in 2016. What hath Early Access (and its ilk on other platforms) wrought for the world of games? Are strategy games particularly well suited to this new world, or are they... ju...Show More

The weekenders discuss the rarest and most magical of gaming experiences - when a game that looks like generic garbage surprises you in the best way. Elsewhere, the Weekenders ponder the mysteries of Pokemon Go, Rob reads about time travelers and jer...Show More

Rob returns from a major cross-country move with stories of his Zombi adventures, surviving the apocalypse on the mean, dead-infested streets of London from his new home on the west coast. Danielle recounts her own move last year, and the comfort tha...Show More

This weekend, Rob takes a quick break to do a tiny errand - that is, move across a continent - and Danielle opens up the mailbag. It's a quickie, but don't worry - Rob will be back next week!

2016 is half over, so the Weekenders have chosen to review their favorite games (and non-The Americans TV series!) of the year so far. You know, so we don't forget about them in December. Elsewhere, they contend with movies depicting sad-but-true his...Show More

It's the big E3 show, with a roundup of the games that looked the most interesting at this year's massive industry trade show. But it's also a sober week, as we spend much of our mailbag time pondering the industry's reaction to the Orlando tragedy. ...Show More

With the PlayStation Neo and Xbox Scorpion potentially (probably) getting their big stat reveals next week at E3, the Weekenders ponder the brave and/or very annoying future of console iteration. Elsewhere on the cast, Danielle has a giant philosophi...Show More

This episode, the Weekenders discuss a favorite topic: the push and pull between tight, well-constructed scenarios and wide-open rulesets. How open is an open-world game, after all, and how open should it be? Elsewhere, we discuss sexy characters, co...Show More

The Weekenders break with their usual format to discuss the sort of thing most gaming podcasts do: what they've been playing. Rob charts the waters of Uncharted 3 in preparation for A Thief's End, Danielle dives into Overwatch fandom, and everyone is...Show More

The Weekenders are enamored with the most gloriously goofy video game of 2016 thus far: id's fast, furious, and self-assured Doom reboot. When not scouring demon-infested Martian hellscapes (or just... Hell's hellscapes) for Doomguys to fist-bump, Da...Show More

The weekenders examine the curious case of a game critic who... gave his opinion on a video game. Then the game's publisher told its fans that it's ok for a critic to do such a thing. It's the curious case of Stellaris! Elsewhere, the weekenders pond...Show More

The Weekenders are joined by freelance game critic extraordinaire Heather Alexandra to discuss AAA game franchises' ever-present need to top themselves. Will every major franchise end up in space? Is marketing to blame? Is Saints Row really the best?...Show More

The Weekenders have a full plate this time around, with PAX stories of fake wrestling, playing Pyre, and taking in the atmosphere of an overcrowded show floor. Later, Rob dives into the wonderful Mad Max: Fury Road, and Danielle gets her secret decod...Show More

With both Weekenders starting a love affair with Street Fighter V, this week is all about coming to blows with fighting games and the real-life combat sports that inspire them. The depth, heart, and complications of controlled violence—in real life a...Show More

(The original version of this file had a minute-long gap about 36 minutes in. The updated version is fixed—sorry about that!) Inspired by Danielle's Dark Souls misery and Rob's experience with hardcore sims, the Weekenders ponder the costs and the...Show More

We here on Idle Weekend are pretty fond of story-based games, so you can imagine we have fond feelings for the genre terribly known as "walking simulators." The weekenders chat about Adr1ft, a space-walking simulator, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapt...Show More

The question used to be whether or not to play a game. Now, it's whether or not to Let's Play a game, and man, we wish we had a better term for it. Controversy over whether or not Let's Play video cut into indie sales has us pondering the ways and me...Show More

The Weekenders ponder the strange case of the Wii U, a weird console from a company that only makes weird consoles these days, with some of the best games of the last few years. Has Nintendo Splatooned its way into the Wii U's demise? Is the Wii U th...Show More

It's GDC week! Which means the Weekenders have serious FOMO. Rob is dealing with it by playing a ton of Burnout Paradise, one of the finest arcade racers ever produced. Danielle went to GDC for two days, and has the burned-out vocal cords to prove it...Show More

Like a perfect diamond wrapped in layers of greasy wrapping paper, this week we're talking about great games that happened to be buried in... other stuff. Does a focus on meaty game length ruin a wonderful, if shorter, experience, or merely water it ...Show More

Idle Weekend invites you to a judgment-free zone where the hosts reveal their gaming soft spots. You know, those juicy indulgences that will always call to you, whether it's the fashionable (or acclaimed) thing of the moment or not. For your intrepid...Show More

The Weekenders are joined by cyberpunk expert and friend of the show Austin Walker of Giant Bomb to talk about our dreams of the 90s. SUPERHOT has us in a 90s cyberpunk frame of mind, so we take a jog down the information superhighway paved by Hacker...Show More

Is there a right way to play, or are video games the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups of the entertainment world? Are you doing it wrong? Are WE doing it wrong? The Weekenders investigate. On the way, they encounter Sherlock Holmes, shrieking YouTube strea...Show More

The Weekenders welcome longtime friend Tom Chick to the show to talk about how skill matters in our ability to understand games. Can we ever truly "get" something we're terrible at? Do some games give us an ego boost that we should consider in review...Show More

In a slightly tardy Idle Weekend (sorry!), our hosts ponder what makes apocalyptic video games so damned entertaining. Is it their artful graffiti? The heroism at the end of the world? The gank-or-be-ganked mentality that comes with every helicopter ...Show More

What makes a "prestige" game? Is it arty graphics? Heady themes? Years of adoration in the press? Difficult puzzles mixed with BBC lectures? The Witness is only the most recent example of the phenomenon. Elsewhere, there are adventures to be had rati...Show More

The Weekenders take on their meatiest discussion of 2016 (so far) in their handling of critical consensus. Does it hold games back? Does it mess with game reviewers' tender hearts? Are Kane and Lynch the real MVPs? Does it necessarily suck if you go ...Show More

The Weekenders travel wide and far, with thoughts on advanced space-cities and train travel for the undead. Bigger questions are tackled, including: is Resident Evil cheesiness good? Is it wrong to make a game about a terrible disease? Should we have...Show More

Welcome our first-ever guest to the show: one Jake Rodkin, Idle Thumb and Firewatch-maker, to weigh in on animated and mo-capped performance in games. Plus, the Weekenders ponder topical questions, such as: What is a keyframe? Are speed runners perfo...Show More

Weekenders Danielle and Rob have had a hell of a 2015, and they want to tell you all about it. Well, mostly they want to tell you about the games they loved best in the (old) year. Plus, some of their favorite game music of 2015, and tales of unusual...Show More

Idle Weekend is visited by the ghost of video games past, present, and future, as Danielle and Rob excavate their holiday memories for your amusement, and look toward the year ahead. Hear about Danielle's bloody-faced determination in Diddy Kong Raci...Show More

This episode, the weekenders ponder the curious monstrosity of Destiny, a game that still has Rob caught firmly in its snares. Danielle, meanwhile, is caught Raiding Tombs, trying to raise a floating crypt with an ancient water wheel just like the go...Show More

Join hosts Rob Zacny and Danielle Riendeau as they kick off Idle Weekend—and yes, they really mean it this time! The Idle Weekenders take on the new-and-improved The Game Awards, wherein actual good games were honored, and talk up 2015's obsession wi...Show More