Fall Damage Can't Hurt You
Season 1
A Busch Gardens Made Entirely of Soup
Ms. Pac Man Has a Right to Bear Arms
The Hater's Guide to Super Mario RPG
God Has Four Legs And Can Float
Silksong Is A Cozier Game Than Stardew Valley
by username_equals_pants, roxal_voxel, and zintendo64
A sequel that's good? When it comes to video games, it's more likely than you may think. Join us as we discuss video game sequels, what makes them wildly more successful than their movie counterparts, and what can make a sequel timeless -- or relegate it to a blue link in Wikipedia. All that plus more, including: Which video game franchises we want to have a real-life theme park How a terrible gen 2 bug pokemon shocked the world -- and got an apology out of one of our hosts Why the cast is suddenly concerned about their goose value References in this episode: The internet hates movie sequels: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/worst-sequels-of-all-time/, https://www.reddit.com/r/flicks/comments/1jbh39x/what_is_the_worst_sequel_of_all_time/ The Ariados win explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lz8vNmE2PA Earthbound Reverse Sanctuary Order explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgNm7aDw70A&pp=ygUXcmV2ZXJzZSBzYW5jdHVhcnkgb3JkZXI%3D The unhinged SoftBank presentation that has geese everywhere astir: https://group.softbank/media/Project/sbg/sbg/pdf/ir/investors/shareholders/2026/shareholders-meeting_46_05_en.pdf A deep dive on OpenAI's miserable financial state: https://www.wheresyoured.at/exclusive-openai-financials/ The AI 8-dimensional sphere-packing situation explained: https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-math-rigor-is-vital-but-are-digitized-proofs-taking-it-too-far-20260325/ Games discussed, at varying length: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Paper Mario 64 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom Hollow Knight: Silksong Metroid Prime 1 and 2 Ender Lilies and Ender Magnolia Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Virtue's Last Reward Jak and Daxter 1 and 2 Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 Pokemon Champions Super Mario Odyssey Astro's Playroom Earthbound Halo: Combat Evolved The Adventures of Elliot Mina the Hollower Donkey Kong 64 This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64. Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong
25 CRAZY Easter Eggs you MISSED about the LORE-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! Number twelve is PLAGUING modern video gaming!!! Join the Fall Damage crew to discuss lore, peripheral storytelling, and the wikification of gaming, and why we're clamoring for an end to the pernicious cycle perpetuating itself upon our poor, defenseless Soulslikes and blockbuster indie RPGs. We discuss where the cycle of lore came from, what it's doing to games like Hollow Knight and Deltarune, and why it's both a sign of genuine love and care and an omen of dark times to come in the fandom. All that, plus: Our thoughts on the new game announcements at Summer Game Fest and its ilk, and what the proliferation of sequels means for gaming as a whole Jack Quaid: a cube? Leonard Cohen's 9/11 References in this episode: Jack Quaid is a cube: https://nerdist.com/article/jack-quaid-new-god-of-war-character-is-a-cube/ Folding Ideas' Annihilation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URo66iLNEZw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_language#Language_origin_hypotheses Poppy’s playtime NFT lore: https://gamerant.com/poppy-playtime-and-nfts-controversy-explained/ https://www.youtube.com/@VaatiVidya What is Undertale Gaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwDrTL3jhoQ John Cena explains a flat white: https://youtube.com/shorts/mc2r_x9tiZU?is=PLdQgsE8neGHE9lk Multi dimensional sphere packing and how an AI start up stole credit for someone’s phd by rewriting their proof as formalized code : https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/science/ai-scoop-young-mathematicians.html Gutta Child by Gabriel Jacoby: https://gabrieljacoby.bandcamp.com/album/gutta-child Games discussed, at varying length: The Dark Souls trilogy Hollow Knight and Silksong Undertale and Deltarune Poppy Playtime Pac-Man Afterimage Mina the Hollower Monster Hunter Wilds Half Life 2 Donkey Kong 64 This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64. Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong
"It's one encounter, Michael. How many levels can it give, 5?" - the Super Mario RPG developers setting the difficulty curve of their game Tune in to hear the Fall Damage crew discuss: RPG grinding, the many ways it can fail you, and the many ways you can fail it How fast people have beaten the games central to the podcast's canon thus far... and how wrong we are when we guess their times Why the Switch 2 feels like such a strange console What we think about a newly unveiled game genre, the "book" References in this episode: Mina the Hollower, releasing on May 29: https://apple.news/At76cbbMaRdGXcYt7MFSvZQ username_equals_pants' new Slay the Spire 2 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFCLWSDwL0 The Switch 2 is increasing in price: https://www.theverge.com/games/926772/nintendo-switch-2-price-hike-console-gaming-future GameStop's most puzzling business move in recent months: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/gamestop-offers-56-billion-for-ebay-struggles-to-explain-how-itll-pay-for-it/ Slay the Spire 2's review bombing: https://kotaku.com/slay-the-spire-2-is-getting-review-bombed-again-this-time-because-of-chuds-2000693961 Private Rites by Julia Armfield (https://www.juliaarmfield.co.uk/writing) The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (https://www.ursulakleguin.com/dispossessed) Games discussed, at varying length: Clair-Obscur: Expedition 33 Super Mario RPG Shin Megami Tensei IV Earthbound Titanium Court Super Mario World Silksong Stardew Valley Every main-line Pokemon game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Slay the Spire 2 Donkey Kong 64 Special thanks to kissesfromlia, who edited the segment intro music for this episode! Learn more about Lia at https://kissesfromlia.com/. This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64. Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong
Pokemon God: is it real, and can it hurt you? More importantly, what is its relationship to Skyrim? Tune into this episode for all this and more, including a signature Fall Damage take about pokemon starters so spicy it requires a PowerPoint with not one but two subtitles. If you're a sicko like us, listen to hear about: Uncovering the long-sought identities of the video game bouba and kiki Which video game dogs we spotlight in our inaugural segment about the best pets in gaming How the AI slopification of GPUs threatens not just visuals but gameplay What we got wrong in our first episode Also referenced in this episode: The slideshow we were looking at during the Pokemon discussion Articles about DLSS-5 by Remap Radio, Kotaku, and The Verge Goodbye Galaxy's "How I Accidentally Set a World Record in Opus Magnum" username_equals_pants' "A Brief History Of That Freaking Bird That I Hate" theamandafiles' Sneasler rant Games discussed, at varying length: The entire main-line Pokemon series Pokemon: Pokopia Disco Elysium The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Slay the Spire 2 Peak Opus Magnum Donkey Kong 64 This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64. Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong.
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Fall Damage Can't Hurt You, the gaming podcast where fall damage may not be able to hurt you, but our takes absolutely can. We're starting off with one of our most controversial takes: Hollow Knight: Silksong is a cozier game than Stardew Valley. If you felt a rush of anger reading that sentence, or if you're a sicko like us who believes it, tune in to hear: What makes a game cozy, and what makes a game sweaty, and why Silksong is the former Which TV director is the only person we'd trust with Baldur's Gate 3 Why everything is really a keyboard, if you think about it How the Fall Damage crew manage to shoehorn Lanky Kong into yet another discussion Also mentioned in this episode: Mountain Goats 365: https://thisyearbook.com/ Microsoft BDS: https://bdsmovement.net/microsoft CGP Grey Year Themes: https://youtu.be/NVGuFdX5guE?si=jlcX4CbIgfV8v3kY Yoko Taro's Evangelion: https://www.avclub.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-reboot-sequel-yoko-taro Baldur's Gate 3 TV show: https://www.ign.com/articles/baldurs-gate-tv-series-set-for-hbo-will-be-a-continuation-of-baldurs-gate-3s-story This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64. Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong. FOLLOW US: RSS.com YouTube
Summer Games Done Quick 2026 is just around the corner. You may have picked up on this before, but the Fall Damage crew have a soft spot for speedruns, so we've devoted our first ever minisode to explaining all their ins and outs to help prepare you for SGDQ: what speedruns are why they're so compelling to watch, when their biggest celebration is happening, and how to break your favorite game at a fundamental level with glitches. Tune in to hear: The unique brand of chaos this year's Monster Hunter Wilds promises to bring How this year's schedule has utterly vindicated our most controversial take Our recommendation for the best day of SGDQ to watch if you're just getting into speedruns References in this episode: The SGDQ 2026 schedule: https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule/66 Games Done Quick's Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/gamesdonequick) How Games Done Quick has intentionally fostered an inclusive community: https://aftermath.site/games-done-quick-gdq-speedrunning-community-trans-rights/ Our hosts' introductions to speedrunning: username_equals_pants (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0N1lh1csGQ) and zintendo64 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5auJOBC828) Speedruns to check out: Fallout Anthology: https://youtu.be/T2SatL2mx3I Super Metroid race: https://youtu.be/AN8Gr0C6MZI Hollow Knight: https://youtu.be/6wkfvuOS_4g Super Mario 64, blindfolded: https://youtu.be/rKnDj3wMNik The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: https://youtu.be/GbR_QqEGBcM Dark Souls: https://youtu.be/feUQGGskV9M Super Mario Odyssey: https://youtu.be/fowA7kQAhL8 Final Fantasy VII: https://youtu.be/EWgb-Jrk5tQ Games discussed, at varying length: Monster Hunter Wilds Hollow Knight: Silksong Stardew Valley Don't Stop, Girliepop I Am Your Beast Tunic The Legend of Zelda: Wand of Gamelon Donkey Kong 64 This podcast is human-only, no AI. The humans are roxal_voxel, username_equals_pants, and zintendo64. Theme song: Booster Grooving by Louie Zong