We are back for Season 7! After looking over our listener stats and surviving the break, we're bringing actual structure to the pod this season, starting with our brand-new overarching theme: Status Effects in Video Games.

In this premiere episode, we dissect how status mechanics like poison, silence, haste, and sleep mess with combat action economy in RPGs and survival horror games. But before we get technical, we tackle the big gaming questions of our era:

• Can you complete a Pokémon Nuzlocke in Kanto with literally zero Pokémon?

• What is the official Donkey Kong family tree canon (DK Jr., Cranky Kong, and Pauline in New Donk City)?

• Why did Patrick Stewart's hair keep glitching in Oblivion Remastered?

• Is NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 AI tech revolutionary or just photorealistic slop?

Plus, we rant about Sims 2 pre-DLC expansions, $100 Dead or Alive swimsuit packs, and why game preservation on the upcoming Metal Slug collection is a win for gaming history.

It’s the season 6 finale and in order to celebrate the pokemon season we’ve got a DOUBLE KILL WHO WANTS THAT GUY TO BE A MASTERMIND double bill. Richie takes on Dunsparce. Cunzy takes on Omastar. May or may not include a far too long talk about the going rate for handy men. That Guy’s A Maniac. Why’d He Bite Me?

This week the maniacs talk about how World of Warcraft is not very interesting to look at, the frog/salamander/whale Pokémon Heatran and the top Volcanoes in games (the only Volcanoes they could remember).

Initially this episode was about one of our fave pokemon, Oricorio. But then we go hard into talking about every forms, modes, formes, shapes, variants, varieties, and all that…

Despite both claiming to have done research before this episode, the maniacs discover live, the inspiration behind the Grubbin line of Pokemon. It isn’t a bus, it isn’t a plane, it’s Grubbin! Despite this they do still talk about modes of transport in games (thrilling stuff) plus everyone’s favourite monarch, Queen Slug for A Butt.

Join us for this week’s episode sponsored by the Pokemon Swellow and brought to you by the concept: vore. We talk realistic Yoshi game, Kiwis and Whales, Kirby and C’thun as well as Love and Deepspace (the game, not the concept)...

Dearest gentle reader. It’s always a good idea to write the podcast blurb just after you record it. Otherwise the list you leave yourself raises more questions than it does provide answers. Apparently in this episode, taking the lead from stealth bomber-ghost-dragon pokemon dragapult we talked about- fusion, decraniation, sex with mothers, Lobot piss, Duplocalkus and the Trill. I see some thematic links but not sure how we got there.

Heathcliff, Heathcliff no one should terrorise the #neigh#bourhood. The Maniacs get a bit Eurotrashy this episode. We talk about Dragonball Zed, poundtown with mummy, horses, letters, penguins, gantin’, Wuthering Heights, biscuits and Shiver from Deep Cut. All inspired by lightning pokemon Zen Strika des-maximus TRAAAAANSFOOORM.