Idle Thumbs

The game begins and this time, you are him. You look out through the holes in your mask, through the trees, and see the teens scattering across the camp. "They fear you," you think to yourself, gripping your iconic machete tighter, your extra senses already picking up their noise, their movements, their smell. "You are the only hunter in these woods and they fear you." A branch snaps behind you, and you whirl around. A small goblin-like man in a hat and overalls looks at you, bobbing slightly, his face expressionless. The goblin man removes his hat, his gaze never leaving yours, and throws it at your face. You try to scream but there is just blinding light, and then nothing. Discussed: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Super Mario Odyssey, Friday the 13th: The Game, the internet as distressing confessional

Enjoy this special double-length bonus episode drawn from our Idle Thumbs Patreon Ruination Online! Each month, we do a livestream where all topics have been posed by high-tier backers of our Patreon campaign: patreon.com/IdleThumbs. In order to rejigger the schedule to make a bit more sense, we're packing the Ruinations from both May and June into this episode—which means next month's July Ruination will actually be released in July. Brilliant! We'll be back with a regular episode of Idle Thumbs next week! Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Far Cry 2, terrible entertainment things, the use of unlimited newfound wealth, classic Idle Thumbs songs, global nuclear war, ghosts in mansions in video games, ancient Idle Thumbs podcast memes, hypothetical game remakes, autobiography titles, Something True podcast, best meals, spicy meals, our child selves, making podcasts, the etymology of "robot", dreaming, board games, comfort food, Idle Thumbs Patreon postcards, game development, Spelunky, the G

There are only two kinds of people in the world, you tell yourself while looking out into the void of space, and well, maybe you'd rather be the other kind. The water ventilator broke down again, and no one's around to fix it. The whole base is going to flood with bile and fumes, and nobody cares. A guy teleported right into the middle of work the other day, just yelling at his wife or someone about a cup of water like she was there in the room, yelling about whether you could hear him, then he looked right at you and disappeared. No matter what you do, your fabricator just makes dart guns. Face it, you're not a duplican, you're a duplicant. Discussed: Prey, Oxygen Not Included, Star Trek Bridge Crew, A Dark Room, The Ensign Wizard Jam 5 starting right now! Wizard Jam is the Idle Thumbs community game jam. It's a two week long non-competitive game making event with a great group of people organizing and participating. If you're interested in trying your hand at making a game, joining a team, or just followi

Enjoy this bonus episode drawn from our Idle Thumbs Patreon Ruination Online! Each month, we do a livestream where all topics have been posed by high-tier backers of our Patreon campaign: patreon.com/IdleThumbs. This month it's a lightning round: two minutes an answer for maximum efficiency. Due to popular demand, we're releasing the audio of that stream to the main podcast feed for easier listening. We'll be back with a regular episode of Idle Thumbs next week! Discussed: The future of VR headset adoption, indie comic books and adapting comics to other mediums, the origin of the "baboo" sound, making an RPG character sheet for yourself, Legion, vowels, visiting and living through an event from history, the moon, Lord Nelson's final words, what makes for a good ruination question? Wizard Jam 5 is coming up! Wizard Jam is the Idle Thumbs community game jam. It's a two week long non-competitive game jam with a great group of people organizing and participating. If you're interested in trying your hand at mak

As the old saying goes, "When the Chris is away, Jake and Nick will play... the demo to Prey." "Specifically," the saying goes on, "the demo of the 2017 version of Prey, not the previous Prey or its demo, or the other two demos for unreleased Prey games." The saying is unpopular and fails to convey how good the Prey 2017 demo is. We're joined by James Spafford to talk about exploring creepy old houses, the experience of skiing down a hill with no one else around, and, yeah, some more Zelda. Discussed: What Remains of Edith Finch, Prey (2017) Demo, Steep, The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

"Now boarding all rows, all groups." Lemore was running late. Stepping up to the gate, he presented a creased boarding pass. The crisp sound of denial emanated from the machine. "I'm sorry, Mr. Macklemore, but this is telling me you've already boarded." Fist clenched, Lemore stared down the tunnel in disbelief. "It's Lemore," he said under his breath in a defeated tone. "Professor Mack Lemore." But it was no use. Once again, he'd been had. Discussed: Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Dark Souls, Sonic/Mario ROM hack, Trespasser: The Lost World - Jurassic Park, identity fraud

All three Thumbs are still playing the new Zelda, and still having just as much of a blast. And some readers have a variety of Trespasser reactions to follow up Nick's recent playthrough. Plus: Jake gets confused about his own life. Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fallout 4: Sim Settlements, Trespasser

It's a week of ambition, both realized and failed. All three hosts continue their journeys through The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but Nick Breckon goes the extra mile by slogging through the entirety of the oft-maligned Trespasser: The Lost World. There, he discovers moments of brilliance years ahead of their time, and also a lot of broken dinosaur animations. Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Trespasser: The Lost World - Jurassic Park

An old man sits in the dark, alone, waiting for a hero to arrive. The old man has lived a full life; he has seen things you wouldn't believe, but the world has changed around him, without him. "Were you able to get the files to download? I bought the game but nothing showed up," he says to no one in particular. "I was having a lot of trouble." He continues to wait for help. Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mac shareware, ResEdit, Nintendo Switch, Bloodborne, choose-your-own-adventure books, Wasteland, Fatal Frame 2, old man complaints about technology

Enjoy this bonus episode drawn from our Idle Thumbs Patreon Ruination Online! Each month, we do a livestream where all topics have been posed by high-tier backers of our Patreon campaign: patreon.com/IdleThumbs Due to popular demand, we're releasing the audio of that stream to the main podcast feed for easier listening. Discussed: The hype cycle, making movies, death robots, music listening habits, World of Warcraft and missing the boat, The Legend of Zelda series, Jake Rodkin, robot overlords, infinite money, cyberpunk, dumb Star Wars names, Jurassic World, Firewatch, Twin Peaks, board games, video podcasts, the moon, pets

You peek over the edge of the hill to confirm — good, they're still there. One of them gets up and walks away from their friends. You inch forward to get a better look and, yep, that one saw you. Their weapons come out, they call for help. You ready a grenade, turn to throw it, run into a rock you didn't see, and drop the grenade at your feet. It rolls down the hill. The hill is on fire, the tree is on fire, you're on fire, you accomplished nothing, and it was wonderful. Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Far Cry 2

Look, I'm gonna level with you: this Mario thing goes deeper than we thought. We uncovered a cache of classified information in a stack of floppy disks we picked up in an EB at the mall, but now we're hearing time travel's involved too? You'll be airdropped into the Mushroom Kingdom for a BLOPS reconnaissance mission. And hey, there's one more thing. That Mario guy? We think there's two of 'em now. Discussed: Mario, Dr. Mario, Mario Is Missing, Mario's Time Machine, shareware, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Dead Ringers

On this week's Idle Thumbs, enjoy the first full episode of "Important If True," our newest podcast (surrounded by some dumb Idle Thumbs pre-roll and post-roll in classic fashion). We hope you enjoy it! If you do, head to importantiftrue.com to hear more—the second episode is already live. And never fear: next week is Idle Thumbs Episode 301. Join us! Want to support Idle Thumbs and hear the rest of Important if True ad-free? We have a Patreon campaign for that!

You look around the table and see faces that comfort you. Maybe they don't look exactly how you expect, but in their presence you feel safe and at home. More faces appear on a big screen in the corner you didn't notice before—faces you haven't seen in ages, not in this room at least. This isn't what you expected. As face after face fills the screen, you feel something growing in your throat, and realize it's an overpowering sense of nostalgia as you get to spend time hanging out with a bunch of friends you miss. Eventually, a montage goes on way too long and you delete the episode before it's over. (We'll be back in two weeks with another episode. See you then!) Discussed: Nontraditional use cases for 3D televisions, invert-X vs invert-Y, resisting scratching an itch, Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid, nostalgia in virtual spaces, brotherhood and growing up, what we look like, Cribbage with Grandpas, Resident Evil VII, Dark Souls, living in haunted houses from the 1970s, Idle ThumbsCheck out Chris, Nick, and Ja

Your burning questions were so white hot they melted through the mailbag, through the table, and through two stories of floor and ceiling. Join us three floors below the earth in the Idle Thumbs underground bunker (now with mail-shaped skylight) as we get down and dirty with what's left of your letters. Discussed: Donkey Kong Jr., Solar Jetman, Super Metroid Rotation, Dwarf Fortress, Skyrim, Dr. Mario, Doctor Mario (D. Cronenberg, 1992), League of Legends, Freecell, Animal Crossing

It's Reader Mail! Episode 300 is looming big on the horizon, but we pushed it back a ways so we can live in this moment together and enjoy what we have. Join us in delaying the inevitable, with an all-reader-mail, all-video-games podblast. Discussed: Spyro the Dragon, Minecraft, Myst, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Donkey Kong Country

Somebody once told me the following on a podcast: Somewhere a moth is happily driving a car around a room, hunting for things that smell nice. Something deep in a crocodile whispers "you could have been a bird." Somehow these are the things that interest us. Hey, everyone needs a hobby. Discussed: The Idle Thumbs Podcast, Mouth Moods/Mouth Sounds, the evolution of dinosaurs and birds, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World, cyborg moth cars, Bubble Tape, XOR, hobbies, cooking, cocktails, Dark Souls 2

This week we talk about two fictional metropolises, both invaded by strange, small men intent on messing up the lives of regular folk just trying to get through their day. Also we met Jeff Goldblum. Discussed: Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Super Mario Odyssey, Batman Returns, Donkey Kong Jr., Bubble Tape, Toxoplasmosis, Robots

It's rainy, it's cold, and you have nothing to do, or maybe too much. Sometimes you just need to curl up with the old classics, and their sequels, and their sequels' sequels. Discussed: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Jurassic Park III, Star Wars, Star Wars: A New Hope, The Witness, Tales of Monkey Island, clowns

You're not sure how it got this bad. The descent was slow, but then suddenly it seemed the world had changed. Our heroes became villains, twisted, corpulent, ruling from a golden throneroom in a palace above the town. A palace you built them. You go to talk to him, but Super Mario looks past you, out into the world he has made. Mario doesn't see you, and doesn't care. Discussed: Hollyweed sign, Super Mario Run, Super Mario World, anime robot in a jar, Glittermitten Grove, Frog Fractions 2