GROGPOD Roguelike Podcast

This Is Part Of! … the roguelike pantheon of short games! A beloved mobile game classic, we hop in to Hoplite this week: the Greek underworld dungeon crawling chess tactics inspired puzzle game of spear-chucking, shield-bashing, and hoppin! Featuring at seemingly simple 16-floor dungeon that can go on infinitely should you so desire, the game also boasts a seemingly bottomless pit of bespoke puzzles. So get swipin and swipe on that play button either for the pod or the game, they’re both good!







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1:39 - Game stats
4:55 - One sentence description
8:19 - Mobile gaming on the go
9:45 - Tutorial & Mechanics
19:26 - Quest for the Golden Fleece
21:30 - Enemy Types & Elegance of Game Design
22:05 - Filler Games vs. Epic Games: Scope & Value Discussion
31:31 - Altar of Apollo Upgrades & Upgrade System
37:44 - Challenge Modes, Daily Puzzles & Bonus Dungeons
41:51 - Sound & Music
1:01:15 - Rankings & final thoughts
1:09:15 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Slay the Spire 2

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Stolen Momens - Orballo Jazz Cuartet

Outro music: Hoplite Main Theme

Brains! Brains! This week in “yes we know it’s not a roguelike”, we venture into the heart of Kentucky for some country-fried human flesh with Project Zomboid. The zeds have spread and you have one goal: survive as long as possible. Do you loot the local school for backpacks and safety scissors, or the police station for pistols and shotguns? Do you dare risk alerting the manic hordes with your car as you break windows in your desperate search for prescription painkillers? …in the game, I mean… allegedly, Your Honor…







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1:34 - Game stats
4:16 - One sentence description
5:50 - Roguelike arugments from the Zomboid community
12:00 - Actual gameplay
14:22 - Zombies as Environmental Hazard vs. Villain
27:47 - Tutorial Design & Quality Praise
30:43 - Character Creation, Occupations & Traits
32:30 - Map Size, Starting Location & Open World Scope
36:00 - Lack of Win Condition & Sandbox Design
49:19 - Combat Mechanics, Difficulty & Stealth
1:00:01 - Defining a Winning Run & End-Game Goals
1:20:00 - Rankings & final thoughts
1:38:32 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Hoplite

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Jimmy Greene - Last Summer

Outro music: Project Zomboid OST - Maybe We Can Win This

Muscle up your game buddy! This week we dust off the 500 year old robot action FPS Roboquest: something like a “Doom Eternal for kids”, the electrobeats of synthwave send you hungering for more and more of those delicious green health orbs. Infiltrate a gigantic city of bad robots, rescuing good robots along the way, and unlock all sorts of wacky movement gadgets, character classes, and more hidden secrets than you can shake a pogo stick at. Always check behind those waterfalls!







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1:42 - Game stats
4:04 - One sentence description
07:21 - Opening comic book sequence & story setup
12:08 - Movement mechanics & speed discussion
17:45 - Weapon variety & upgrade systems
24:32 - Biome diversity & level design quality
31:18 - Co-op gameplay & multiplayer features
38:05 - Enemy design & AI behavior patterns
44:52 - Difficulty scaling & progression balance
51:39 - Boss fights & challenge variety
58:26 - Audio design & soundtrack
1:08:30 - Rankings & final thoughts
1:16:57 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Project Zomboid

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Lady Iris B. - Dexter Gordon

Outro music: Final Metal Hero - Noisecream

Angels and demons all over the world, join hands and start a Monster Train sequel! One of our highest rated deckbuilder rogues arrives at GROGPOD station once again, featuring some interesting twists on the established formula. As we’ll explore more in this season, we’ll be looking closely at what makes for a good sequel while trying to make as many obnoxious monster moaning sounds at turbo speed as hum- … as monster-ly possible.







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2:00 - Game stats
5:30 - One sentence description
07:36 - Good sequel mechanics & previous coverage comparison
11:23 - First impressions & visual improvements discussion
17:45 - Clan mechanics & faction system changes
24:31 - Card synergies & build complexity analysis
31:18 - Champions system & upgrade mechanics
38:05 - Boss battles & difficulty scaling discussion
44:52 - Art style evolution & presentation quality
58:35 - Rankings & final thoughts
1:06:03 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Roboquest

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Blue Mitchell Quintet - March on Selma

Outro music: Monster Train 2 OST - Stryx & Hallow

Yoom-taah! To kick off season 4 of the podcast, we choose you: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team! Joined again by our expert guest on the sub-genre with Helen, we revisit nostalgia and fresh experiences for a 20+ year old spinoff roguelike…lite…game? Hopefully the listeners don’t also brand us as fugitives, focing us to traverse the Great Canyon of JRPG menu systems to the high peaks of Friendship Mountain, while eating jelly bean-based IQ boosters we find on the dirty ground. Can we overcome Team Meanies’ quest for world domination? Can we find our lost sense of gratitude in the depths of murky caverns? Were we the true meanies after all? Time to take charge of our destiny and find out!







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3:03 - Game stats
5:59 - One sentence description
6:56 - Is PMD a roguelike?
12:20 - Our experiences with Pokemon growing up
23:00 - Gameplay mechanics
36:40 - The personality quiz
44:30 - Saving Caterpie, Thunderwave Cave, Mt Steel
49:00 - Friend areas
52:00 - Team ACT, the dream, Team Meanies, Silent Chasm, Mt Thunder
1:11:15 - The Ninetales legend, Gengar’s muckraking, the hunt begins!
1:16:58 - Mt Blaze, Frosty Forest, Mt Freeze
1:24:00 - Return to town
1:27:50 - Magma Cavern, Sky Tower
1:41:50 - Postgame content
1:55:55 - Rankings & final thoughts
2:07:37 - Similar games & show wind-down

Next episode: Monster Train 2

Contact us at [email protected]!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Pokemon Theme Saxy Style - The 8-Bit Big Band featuring Grace Kelly and Leo P

Outro music: Blue Rescue Team OST - Sky Tower