Two Player Theory

012 - "How do you solve a problem like..." (INDIKA)

Joined once again by special guest Sean (or Bean, has the Theorists end up calling him), Derek and Zach meditate on 2024's beloved indie game about a failed nun, INDIKA (Odd-Meter). They talk fate, faith, work, play, and imagine "What if the devil was real?" If you've ever wanted to listen to a podcast half the length of the actual game, THIS is the episode for you.

011 - Revenge, Retribution, and a Sapling of Hope (Arco)

Derek and Zach make their way through Arco (2024), an indie, postcolonial (??) turn-based action game about the violence of colonization and the stories of indigenous people seeking revenge and redemption for past injustices. Challenging at mechanical, thematic, and narrative levels, Arco was difficult in all the best ways.

010 - It's NetRUNNER, Not NetWALKER! (Cloudpunk)

Thanks to a listener suggestion, Zach and Derek drift into the neon-lit world of Cloudpunk (Ion Lands, 2020). They reflect on Cloudpunk's unique, "cozy" take on cyberpunk, and try to figure out what they want and expect from a game about techno-feudalist collapse.

009 - "Now summoning Ayn Rand" (Dark Souls)

Derek and Zach are joined by special guest Sean to recount the highs and lows of their relationships with FromSoft's classic Dark Souls (2011). They reflect on narrative and mechanical design, struggle, failure, vulnerability, prophecy, and more.
Check out Sean's podcast! https://www.gokvet.ch/
Works Cited
Kelly: "I Can’t Take This: Dark Souls, Vulnerability, and the Ethics of Networks"
Keogh: “Dark Souls: A Time To Grind”

008 - Are you a Minecraft Hero or Minecraft ZERO?? (Minecraft)

Zach and Derek talk about one of the biggest games in the world: Minecraft. They test their knowledge, try their hand at some amateur foley work, and work through why procedural generation in games like Minecraft feels good, but generative AI sometimes really doesn't. 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@twoplayertheory
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twoplayertheory/

007 - Thrusting is particularly bad for crowd control (Boyfriend Dungeon)

On this unintentionally-well-timed-nearly-Valentine's release, Zach and Derek visit the dating-sim/dungeon crawler Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox, 2021), a game far less saucy than the title suggests. How does the game bring together these disparate genres, and what do The Theorists think of it? Listen in and find out!
 
Article referenced: Boyfriend Dungeon Is Being Subjected To Tumblr's Messiest Death Throes (Renata Price, 2021), https://kotaku.com/boyfriend-dungeon-is-being-subjected-to-tumblrs-messies-1847506425

006 - 2024 Games of the Year

It's Two Player Theory Award Season!! Zach and Derek highlight their favorite moments with games in 2024, both the big and the small.
Wanna see the full list of our awards? Check them out on social media here:
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@twoplayertheory
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twoplayertheory/
 

005 - Roguelikes and Roguelites (FTL and Cult of the Lamb)

Or, The Life and Death of Robo Derek
Zach and Derek (and a special guest ??) do a game swap to tackle a favorite genre: roguelikes, roguelites, and everything in between. They focus on FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games, 2012) and Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster, 2022), but touch on many other games in this genre.
This episode is the first of a mini-series on roguelikes - more coming soon!

004 - All Scrims and Set-Pieces (Kentucky Route Zero)

Has the die already been cast? Are we all just floating along for the ride? What makes a memory, a dream, a ghost, or an echo (un)real? Is there hope for community and life after the flood? Derek and Zach consider it all as they explore their thoughts and feelings about Annapurna Interactive's Kentucky Route Zero (2013- 2020).

Gaming to Know You: Orange Boxes and Meat Flowers (Derek + Zach)

Derek goes back to the very beginning of his interest in first-person shooters with  Team Fortress 2 (Valve, 2007), and Zach tells the tale of his time at summer camp in Psychonauts (Double Fine, 2005).