Psitanium Mine
Psitanium Mine is a video game podcast where the host, Psitanium, shares in-depth thoughts on games he has played. He breaks down what these games borrow from other titles, what worked or didn't work, and suggests similar games listeners might enjoy. The show adds a humorous conceit of coming from a secret mine, keeping the tone casual and personal.
Episodes
Seacember: Critter Cove (Demo)
We don't usually discuss demos on this show, but Critter Cove has such a long and robust one that you can play it longer than some other games we have covered in Seacember. So, choose your furry and head of to the islands in your bathtub to build a vacation getaway.
Seacember: Lake Minnewaska
We finally get to talk about a student project on Seacember! Lake Minnewaska is a short narrative game based around fishing. And all you need is a mouse and about 20 minutes to play it.
Seacember: Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands
Stranded Sails: Explorers of the Cursed Islands might not feel very cursed, but what happens if you play it? Perhaps you will feel cursed too.
Seacember: Maneater
Sure, I don't enjoy dealing with sharks in video games, but what if you could PLAY the shark? Maneater is the game that answers such a question. Let's get our Jaws on.
#shark #maneater #psitaniummine
Seacember: Coral Island
Let's visit Stardew... Coral Island. A game that is completely unique to a game set in a valley. How does Coral Island set itself apart from other cozy games? Let's dive in and find out.
Seacember: Dredge
Dredge takes a Lovecraftian view of fishing as you traverse the abominable waters around Greater Marrow. Meet odd characters with even odder requests. Get attacked by sea monsters. Learn to panic. The possibilities are as endless as the sea.
Seacember: Dave the Diver
Dave the Diver is a game about diving... but also sushi. Also, mini-games and farming. There's also management sim elements later on. Sometimes Godzilla shows up. Anyway, let's discuss all the diving Dave does in this first episode of Sea-Cember.
It's Almost Sea-Cember!
Psitanium Mine is back just in time for Sea-Cember.
Botany Manor
Botany Manor is a game about being in a 19th century English manor while learning how to grow strange plants. But this is slightly different than other puzzle games as it is more detective game than logic problem. Let's look at how it implements these mechanics and the big issue that holds it back.
Steam Next Fest Summer 2024
Steam Next Fest recently happened and so many game demos were available to play. Psitanium was able to get his hands on 12 and decided to talk about them on this episode. So, let's jet around a canyon at 1,000 mph, load a flintlock pistol, open a blacksmith shop, survive as a Viking, clean up a dungeon and figure out what Once Human is trying to be.
Wall World
Wall World is a vertical rogue-lite game where you pilot a giant mech and dig into a giant wall to collect crystals. Also, you occasionally fight monsters. Eventually a large ink monster will try to kill you with a laser beam. Let's take revenge on it.
Beyond Contact
Quinn Hicks is having a very bad day. Welcome to the world of Beyond Contact, a survival game on an alien planet where you have to avoid getting killed by vicious creatures, the locals and exposure to the elements. So, let's build a base, grow some fruit and seek out oxygen deposits on Ketern.
#BeyondContact #PsitaniumMine #survival
Second Chances: Little Witch in the Woods
Little Witch in the Woods was Psitanium's worst ranked game of 2022, due to it being so mind-numbingly slow and boring. But, it was rather cute and really felt like a shame that it wasn't better. So, on this Second Chances episode, we are returning to the woods to brew some potions and talk to our hat in the hopes that it has improved. Emphasis on the word "hopes".
Lightyear Frontier
Finally, a farming sim on the show... for the 20th time. Lightyear Frontier tasks you with growing crops on an alien world while you are riding around in the giant mech. This sounds like an easy win, but it did not start out that way.
Halls of Torment + Brotato + Pesticide Not Required
Hey, remember Vampire Survivors? The indie game scene sure does, because we have been swamped with bullet heaven games since it's release in 2022. Today on the show, we go into levels of hell in Halls of Torment, give a potato some guns in Brotato and help a frog defend his farm in Pesticide Not Required.
Dying Light 2 + Dead Island 2
Stop. Zombie time.
Many years have past since Psitanium played Dying Light and Dead Island. It's even been a couple years since he played them a second time. And all the while, there was a certain impression of the games burned into his head.
Now we look at their sequels and, boy, the structural changes they make really changed his perception of the series. Let's discuss what changes, wh
Second Chances: Metro Exodus
And so we travel back to the metro to look at post-apocalyptic Russia. Good times.Once upon a time, Nathan tried playing Metro Exodus and then stopped suddenly before completing the first chapter. Now, he goes back to finish the game in it's entirety. Was it worth it? We explore the winter wasteland to find out.
Skull & Bones + Sail Forth
Avast ye hardies. We are about to set sail with 2 naval games about the high seas and looting booty. First, we have the "Quadruple A" game from Ubisoft that finally saw the light of day, Skull and Bones. Does it stack up to the lineage of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag or somehow prove a worse version a whole decade after it started development? Second, we have Sail Forth, a smaller in
Student Projects from 2023
There are some games I pick up for a moment and then put down, never to return to again. Many games I simply fall asleep while playing. These are not games that deserve to be on a best to worst list for how little I can evaluate them. But, on this episode of Psitanium Mine, we will be discussing those titles from 2023 and why they weren't on the list.
The Games I Barely Played from 2023
There are some games I pick up for a moment and then put down, never to return to again. Many games I simply fall asleep while playing. These are not games that deserve to be on a best to worst list for how little I can evaluate them. But, on this episode of Psitanium Mine, we will be discussing those titles from 2023 and why they weren't on the list.
Every Game I Played from 2023 from Best to Worst
It’s that time of year when we do the best to worst list and boy, there are so many big titles we need to discuss. There were some truly great games that came out and also… less good ones. This year’s list has 31 games on it and it’s quite a marathon. Enjoy.
Spacember: The Mass Effect Trilogy
It’s finally time. We need to discuss the Mass Effect trilogy. Not only did I have a reluctance to finish the series, but apparently I had a reluctance to do an episode about it.
So, let us look at the Legendary Edition, which updates and synergizes the three installments into a cohesive product. Does that help with the experience as opposed to the first time I played it many years ago? And shoul
Spacember: No Man’s Sky
Strange that we never talked about No Man’s Sky on this show before. Since it’s Spacember, I guess we can rectify that. So, let’s go into the infinite universe to collect carbon.
Spacember: Breathedge (again)
Time to discuss Breathedge for the first… second time! We did a Psitanium Mine episode on the game back in 2021, but it’s time to revisit the exploded ship and minimal gravity of this game world. Will we find our dead grandfather before it’s too late? Well, no, because he’s already dead.
Spacember: Prey
Prey will make you question reality itself. You will never pick up a mug without smacking it with a wrench ever again. Arkane was in peak shape when they made this reboot and it holds up to this day. So dust off your neuromods and fire up the q-beam, we’re going to fight the Typhon one more time.
Spacember: Starfield
Starfield is a big game… too big, you could say. In fact, Starfield has so many things going on that it’s hard to explain exactly what you do in the game, but let us discuss what stood out after my 100+ hours of playing Bethesda’s new sandbox.
Psitanium Mine Presents: SPACEMBER!!!
It’s been awhile since we had a Psitanium Mine. To make up for it, wwe are pleased to announced a whole month of space game episodes. It shall be called… SPACEMBER!!!
During December, each week we will feature a big space game, including Starfield, Prey, Breathedge, Dead Space and the Mass Effect trilogy.
Merry Spacemas everyone!!!
A Short Hike
Go on a hike up Hawk Peak with your anthropomorphic bird protagonist Claire while collecting golden feathers to take you even higher. All in the service of getting cell reception to call home. Let's discuss a lighter, shorter game than we normally do as a nice change of pace.
F.I.S.T. Forged is Shadow Torch
Metroidvanias are cropping up more often now and it’s a welcome return to a great genre. F.I.S.T. is such a title with the added benefit of featuring an anthropomorphic rabbit with a giant mechanical fist on his back. Sounds great, right?
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
We here at Psitanium Mine are connoisseurs of fine Borderlands content. As such, we proudly present the fantasy-infused looter shooter Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Gearbox gives us magic, dragons, pirates, unicorns, hand crossbows and so much more as we cross the overworld and hunt down The Dragon Lord. How does it stack up to other titles in the series? What works better and what features are missing
Tavern Master
It’s always a pleasure to play a nice management sim and in this episode we discuss Tavern Master. Here we will build out our tavern, make a hotel, cook some food and host some distinguished dignitaries. Can we get the entire medieval town drunk? Well, yeah, but can we make a profit doing so? Still working on that.
Demo Round-Up (Little Kitty Big City, Above Snakes, Death Must Die!, Paleo Pines)
It’s a good old-fashioned demo round-up! Yeehaw!
On this Psitanium Mine, we hit the streets as a cat in Little Kitty, Big City. Then we build the untamed wilderness one tile at a time in Above Snakes. We find out what would happen if Vampire Survivors and Hades in Death Must Die! Finally, we get to live the dream of befriending dinosaurs in the cozy game Paleo Pines.
Daggerfall Unity
Daggerfall is the largest Elder Scrolls game ever. Skyrim is but a fraction it’s size. Oblivion could fit in Daggerfall’s pocket. But the problem is that the game is very old. Luckily, a Unity version was made a few years ago, in an attempt to update the game for modern audiences. But can the old-school Daggerfall survive the modern gamer… i.e. Me? Let’s find out.
My Favorite Games, Part 2
And here we are, with my top 10. Well, the other 10. But the top 5 I swear is the real top 5. I'm not good at ranking things. What games stuck with me through all these years? Watch to find out.
My Favorite Games, Part 1
Do you ever get depressed with the current state of games? I did toward the beginning of the year and it led me to put together a list of my favorite games of all time. Make a note that this does not mean the games I think are the best, but my personal favorites.
This is part 1, handling numbers 20-11, although we're playing very fast and loose with our numbering system here.
Checking my Amazon Games account
So, recently I stumbled into my Amazon Games account that I barely remember having. Come to find out I had many games ready to claim and, on a lark, I thought I would try playing some of them. On this episode, we are going to look at Kardboard Kings, Grime and Abandon Ship… for better or worse. Gonna have to check out the episode to find out which is which.
Homestead Arcana
Farming is always better with magic and Homestead Arcana delivers in that regard. So, let's grow some crops, obsessively tend to them, talk to a cat and throw on a plague doctor mask to explore an infected world. Oh, the places you'll go... on a broomstick.
Boneraiser Minions
Make my boners grow! Boneraiser Minions is sort of like Vampire Survivors but with summoning boney boyz. Does it work though? Well…
No Place Like Home
We now return to the cozy life sim with No Place Like Home, a game about returning to an Earth covered in trash… so everything is basically the same. Ellen comes to look for her grandfather and does some tidying up along the way, building a farm and battling spider robots. Just another day in the post-apocalypse.
Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart is what happens if you took the concept of Bioshock and placed it in the post-WW2 Soviet Union. And it feels like the Russian version of a dystopic alternate history. To some degree, it works, and yet in many others, it falls short. So, what went right and wrong and is it actually Russian propaganda?
Doritos Crash Course
Finally back from our break and so we must discuss one of the greatest games of all-time: Doritos Crash Course. Get ready to crash, crunch, corn chip and crash again in this interactive dystopic game show. Dark, foreboding, probably a psychological horror, shaped like a triangle, covered in cheese dust, we look into the most intense piece of product integrated media I played in March.
Every Game I Played from 2022 Ranked Best to Worst
And so the time has come to rank all the games released in 2022 that I played and this is going to take awhile. There are 31 games on the list this year and that is even after some paring down from games I didn't play very much (listed in the episode), demos of upcoming games and some top releases I have not gotten to try yet. There is just so much to go through, so let's just get into it.
The Assassin's Creed series
It’s the start of a brand new year! Let’s ring in 2023 with a nice, light episode discussing the entire Assassin’s Creed series spanning over a decade.
Yes, this Psitanium Mine goes into the origins behind the series, the story of the Assassins and Templars, the evolution of the games through the years and where the series goes from here.
Really light podcast for the start of the year.
The 12 Months of Livestreams
Move over 12 Days of Christmas, Psitanium has 12 Months of Livestreams. Months are more than days.
Most of the games played on stream were not made into Psitanium Mine episodes, so this is an opportunity to talk about all the games and whether it was good or not.
Ghost Song
The amount of Metroidvania titles of late have been a bit lacking, but the number of games inspired by Dark Souls have erupted. Ghost Song is one of the games that tries to take elements from both genres to make something new. But are they the best elements? How do the two types of games work together? Will my love of one genre outweight my frustration with the other? We dig deep into those questi
This Land is My Land
As we get over our Thanksgiving turkey coma, it seems like a good time to look at This Land is My Land, a game where you play a native warrior fighting against westward expansion. If that seems like fun to you, well, hold your horses. Besides the problematic elements around the theme and development, which we will discuss, there are some technical issues and choices that seem odd. So, what does th
Well, that got old fast
Sometimes I try games that seem like they might be fun but end up being nothing I wish to continue playing. Many of them will wear out their welcome in under an hour. Here are a few examples of the games I played this year that went by so fast... because I stopped playing them.
Scary moments in regular games
While I don't play many scary games, I have come across scary moments in otherwise normal games. You can almost feel it in the way the tone shifts from one of feeling powerful to helpless. Sometimes it creeps up on you and sometimes it jumps up into your face and screams. We'll discuss a few of those from games I have played and beware some spoilers for: Halo, Control, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloo
The Fallout series
From it's early roots in 1990s CRPGs to the modern open-world incarnations, Fallout has been a staple of the video gaming industry for decades. On this episode of Psitanium Mine, we're going to look at the origins of Fallout from the time it diverged from Wasteland, the time that Interplay spent making CRPGs and other experimental projects, the Bethesda era, cancelled entries in the series and wha
Death Stranding
And so, we step into the degrading footwear of Norman Reedus in the game Hideo Kojima really wanted to make. Death Stranding is a game where you do a bunch of walking so you can deliver packages across a broken world. Watch out for rocks… very small rocks. A very surreal and unique experience, but is it fun?
Valheim
Sit down. Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to talk about an open-world survival game. The good news is that this is a widely acclaimed indie project based with a healthy dose of Norse mythology. You will fight gremlins. Trolls will throw boulders at you. You will get killed by a tree. Let me tell you about my experience playing Valheim.
Lords of the Fallen
Back in the camp of the souls-like genre, we go back time to 2014 and look at Lords of the Fallen. Is it as difficult as Dark Souls? Is it more accessible than Dark Souls? How annoying are the bosses? Well, let's go into that.
TitanQuest and Grim Dawn
Recently, we went through a retrospective of the Diablo series. Recent entries have been less than impressive, but the genre is much larger than that series. So, Psitanium has been playing some other examples of the hack-n-slash ARPG genre. Among them were the prominent examples of TitanQuest and Grim Dawn. Are they as good or better than Diablo? Which one stands above the other?
Also, a few brief
Stardew Valley
It’s gardening time and that’s gotten Psitanium thinking about Stardew Valley, among his favorite games. So, on this episode, we discuss the farming game made by one person that turned the indie game market on it’s head and spawned countless imitators, many of which were also really good. So, quit Joja and start fixing up the community center, Pelican Town awaits.
The Diablo series
Well, Diablo Immortal came out to... reactions. Since we are trying to forget that and looking towards Diablo 4, Psitanium thought he would do a stupid thing and go over a brief history and critique of the Diablo series, past, present and future. Which ones were the best? Did Diablo show up at any point is this more of a Waiting for Godot situation?
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Now that we know there will be a remake of the Knights of the Old Republic, it seems like a good time to look back at the original. As one of the greatest RPGs of all time and one of Psitanium's Top 10, let's go over what the game did and why it warrants a remake today.
Will Starfield Be Good?: The Existential Crisis of Space Games
Bethesda has released new information about Starfield and we should probably go over it, because the picture of what this game is has become much clearer. But we should also talk about the general problem with space games and how Starfield hopes to fit in a space that has already been dominated by other games.
Fallout: New Vegas
Out of all the games I have played, Fallout New Vegas stands as one of the best RPGs. When I realized there has never been an episode of the show discussing the Fallout games, I decided to go back and talk at length about why New Vegas was such an excellent piece of video gaming. We will look at how the game starts off with a bang, the influences that made it possible, the way it builds player cho
No Man's Sky
If you ever wanted a game that never ends, you have finally found it. No Man's Sky had a rocky start to it's life, but plenty of major updates later, it has alot to offer. Freighters, frigates, colonies, animal breeding, base building and so much more are now here for you as you explore the virtual universe. Let us take to the stars and talk about what you can expect from No Man's Sky in 2022.
Rage 2
Well, since he just played Rage, we might as well talk about Rage 2. Because it is a very different experience in the way the world and gameplay function. And it's not even about being better or worse, just different. That's explain that in this Psitanium Mine.
Rage
Going back to some old games has had mixed results. Recently, Nathan had a notion to go back and play Rage. Originally, this was a lukewarm title for him and, well, it still kind of is. Let's discuss why in this episode of Psitanium Mine.
We Happy Few
Put on a happy face, because you have to. Nathan played We Happy Few after stepping away from it for a few years and spent some time yet again in Wellington Wells. Does this dystopic alternative universe hold up with the advent of time? Or does the cheeky title from Compulsion fall flat of it's lofty ambitions?
Unsighted
So there are more souls-likes than we shake an ineffective stick at. The indie scene is going with the top-down Zelda-style souls formula, such as Death's Door and Tunic. But while Nathan did not get far with those titles, he did finish Unsighted, the story of an android trying to stop a mysterious entity to save another android. So, why did he finish it? What was so special about it? Well, the an
Cyberpunk 2077
And so we return to Psitanium Mine following our break and we are going to do it in style. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most talked about game releases in the past few years... for better or worse. While there were many, many problems with the game on initial release, things have changed considerably. Into this new, improved version of the game comes Nathan, who stepped into the fashionable shoes
The Borderlands Series
With Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands releasing this week, Nathan waxed nostalgic about the entire Borderlands series up to this point. Having jumped back to Borderlands 2 and 3 a bit and streaming some of Assault on Dragon Keep, the series has definitely been in the forefront of his mind. So, let us discuss the series from the beginning including the story lines, the vault hunters, the DLCs and the mechan
Windbound
Sailing takes me away to where I’m going… and in Windbound you do quite a bit of it. Of course, you might have to contend with frustrating inventory management, resource collection and combat along the way. But the sailing is pretty cool. Is it cool enough to overcome it’s problems? That’s probably worth discussing.
Dreamscaper
I’ll see you in your dreams, because that’s where the majority of this game takes place. Dreamscaper takes the rogue-lite framework and applies it to the idea of dealing with personal anxiety and psychology. Battle fear in the dream world and then use the inspiration of your success to give a coaster to new folks you meet in the waking world. Ideas, daydreaming, meditation, finger guns and giant f
Quick Attacks (Guild of Dungeoneering, Darkest Dungeon, Death’s Door)
Today on the show we focus on the three D’s": dungeons, darkness and death. Fun times, right?
On this episode we discuss building your own dungeon with cards in Guild of Dungeoneering, watching your party go insane in Darkest Dungeon and reaping souls as a bird in Death’s Door. Did any of this work for me? Okay, these are going to be some spicy takes…
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Robot dinosaurs hunts? I'm sold. Join Aloy on a large open-world adventure where you will craft, hunt, storm forts, climb towers, gain new skills, acquire better weapons, journey into ancient ruins, climb mountains, go on fetch quests... wait, have I played this game before? Find out if I experienced De Ja Ubisoft playing Horizon on this episode of Psitanium Mine.
Nobody Saves the World
In a game where you can play a zombie, a horse, a slug and an egg, can there be any consistency in gameplay? Well, not really, but that's kind of the point. Nobody Saves the World casts you as many characters with many skills and abilities to create a Zelda-esque adventure unlike anything you've played recently. Does that work or not? Well, we'll discuss that in this episode of Psitanium Mine
The 2021 Bucket List
There's only so many games you can play in the same year they release. While trying to play a bunch from 2021, there were still those that were on my list before I could make a list. What is still on that list? Will I actually play these games? Well, we'll find out together. Let's discuss why these 16 games are on my list.
Chronos: Before the Ashes
After playing Remnant, I got to thinking about other games in this world. So, I played some Chronos: Before the Ashes and found that it's a very different game. Some things work well, other things are not as interesting. The time jump mechanic is also very unique and worth discussing. So let's trade out our gun for a sword for reasons and discuss another souls-like.
Generation Zero
Imagine a hunting game with robots. But wait, imagine if the robots also hunted YOU! Well, you don't have to, because that's basically Terminator. It's also Generation Zero, but likely less entertaining. Let's open a lot of car doors and shoot at mobile metal death machines in this episode.
The Good Life
Well, I tried. The Good Life is basically what would happen if Swery tried to make Stardew Valley. And it's a very strange game of course. Naomi goes to a quaint English town to find that people turn into cats and dogs. But don't worry, because you get to turn into a cat and dog as well, while taking photos of the quaint English town. So, how long could I play this game? Well, let's talk about tha
Every Game I Played from 2021 Ranked Best to Worst
Ah yes, here it is, the one and only yearly list of every game Psitanium played from the year in a ranked list. We look at the best things I played this year all the way down to the complain-a-thon at the bottom. In the middle is the bland, the shrug-worthy and the ones with good ideas that were poorly executed. Let’s sort through all of it on this exhaustive list of 30+ games. Get comfortable.
Yo
Remnant: From the Ashes
From zero to hero, we take a second look at a game I did not like at all and realize it's good actually. "Dark Souls with guns" is actually more of a lighter, easier, more customizable experience than the Souls game and it works surprisingly well. Let's do a full 180 on a game in this episode.
Skyrim
On this very special edition of the show, we talk about the little-known RPG called Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Many people have yet to heard about this epic RPG, but perhaps this episode will finally bring it some much-needed attention. Let us discuss the main game, the Special Edition, stuff we got for the Anniversary Edition, some DLC stuff and a whole lot about mods on the first episode of Season
Everspace 2
If you love space combat, light RPG elements and getting blown up by sniper drones, here's the game for you. Everspace 2 might only be in early access, but it's a full-fledged game with plenty of content that looks great, plays great and keeps you coming back for more. And you'll have to keep coming back for more since your inventory fills up almost instantaneously. Let's dive into the inky blackn
Marvel's Avengers
Marvel's Avengers, not to be confused with Marvel Studios' Avengers that made all the money, is a game that would very much like to capitalize on Marvel Studios' Avengers to get all the money. But it's not really the same thing and released in a very rough state. Luckily, we're a year out and have the benefit of time to get a better picture of this game, so let's see what the stunt doubles can do
Echo Generation
If you like Stranger Things and want to play a game like that... well, there are some Stranger Things games. But, there is also Echo Generation, an homage to classic games like Earthbound. You battle raccoons, meet an alien squid and get attacked by an angry spirit in your school. This game is weird and it likes it that way.
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