It's back to back bangers here at Beat of the Month with another deep dive for a highly successful game of 2024 - this time taking a look at Balatro! With an average playtime for each of our crew exceeding 50 hours, we take a look at what keeps bringing us back to play more of this poker themed rougelike. From jokers that radically change the way you play every game, leveling up your hands with planet cards, altering your deck with tarot cards, boss blinds that apply restrictions - there's a ton to talk about.

We also recap an in-person poker night we had where the stakes were big and the trash talk was bigger. Who of the Beats crew came out on top? As usual, we round things out with some card based trivia - will you ace the questions or end up a joker? So roll up your sleeves, grab your sunglasses, and join us - for this deep dive on Balatro!

Sony's 30th anniversary celebrations are underway and what better game to have an episode about than Astro Bot - a love letter to all of Sony's franchises! We dive into all the things that make the new Astro Bot game great - the cameos, the levels, the bosses, and more. We also discuss whether or not Astro will cement himself in Sony's legacy as well with a Game of the Year award.

In addition to the latest game in the series, we also talk a bit about the earlier games in the franchise. Most are likely familiar with the PS5 pack-in game Astro's Playroom, but did you know there was a Playstation VR exclusive game before that? And did you know that there was another VR exclusive mini-game compilation before that? And did you know there was something even before that??? The little robot's legacy ran deeper than we realized! So grab your headphones and your jet pack, booster...hover...thing - and join us, on this Astro Bot Deep Space Dive!

We're a week out from Thanksgiving and soon we'll all be enjoying a feast of turkey with all the fixin's. Since our ancestors filled their Thanskgiving table the old fashioned way via hunting and fishing, we decided to have an episode focused on those topics as well - in a digital format of course. Well maybe not entirely digitally since some of the crew does have background with the outdoor arts.

For the rest of us, we settle in and talk about games such as Dave the Diver, Dredge, Cabela's Survival; Shadows of Katmai - and more! We also throw in a dash of semi-related games like Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and completely unrelated stuff such as Lies of P and Time Crisis 4. As usual we wrap things up with trivia - can you guess what system had 11 bass fishing games on it? So grab your rod and reel and join us for this episode on hunting and fishing games!

What if you could only pick one game for each console - one game that would most represent that console? Would you pick the best game for the system? Would you pick a launch title that set the stage for the console? Would you choose a late release that showcased what the system was capable of? Would your decisions change if these games would be put in a box for aliens to open up 2000 years from now?

Well if you're wondering why I'm asking all these questions, it's because that's what this episode is all about! We run through all the major consoles and decide as a group on one game per system that we feel tells the story of that console best. Some systems lend themselves naturally to one game, but others are a bit tricky. So grab your headphones and some Snicker's Ice Cream Bars™, and join us on this journey to fill up our gaming time capsule!

It's still the spooky season still y'all! In the past we've done deep dives on some truly terrifying games like Dead Space and Resident Evil. This time we're doing something a little different and exploring into the unknown to see why exactly kids love Five Nights At Freddy's. None of us have any first hand experience with the games and we decided to jump in head first - let's just hope we don't lose our heads in the process... We take a look at a bunch of games including the first game that started it all, a few of the original style that came next, and Security Breach. Then we take a look at the blockbuster movie and see if all that money it made was for good reason. So grab your stinky animal suit, zip up, and join us for this doubleheader deep dive into Five Nights At Freddy's!

The spooky season is here! We've done scary games, monster games, zombie games, ghost games, and this time we're focusing on a common aspect from most of those games - blood! First we get the bloody juices flowing with a little blood trivia and talking about the bloodiest games we've ever played.

Then we get into the meat of the discussion with bloody games we played so far to celebrate October. We've got discussion on Bloodborne (right there in the title!), the bloodiest Final Fantasy game with FFXVI, and...Mr. Mosquito? That last one wasn't what I had in mind, but hey - blood is blood! Grab some gauze, bring your band-aids, and join us - for some Bloody Beats!

Hot on the heels of our last episode where we declared the ultimate video game president, we've got another politically themed show - a deep look at the game Papers, Please! It's one of the most unique games that we've covered with a demand for attention to detail, quick decision making, and deep moral decisions. Oh, and do you remember those Spot the Difference games from when you were a kid? Did you like those? Then you'll love this!

As most deep dives we spoil a lot of what this game has to offer, so if it begins to sounds interesting I recommend giving it a shot - it's $5 on mobile! Or you can also buy the physical Playstation Vita version for 20x that, if you so choose... So, grab your passport and your bribe money, and prepare to get detained at some point during this deep dive of Papers, Please!

The political season is heating up and the Beat of the Month Crew are getting in on the action! We've got a double dose of political antics this episode with a look at games with a political theme. We play a bit fast and loose with the theme as usual, but we played some Ghost of Tsushima, Super Mario Odyssey, Cult of the Lamb, and a little Disco Elysium (and by a little, I mean a little). We've also got some odds and ends in there like Nintendo World Championship and Mr. Gimmick.

We also fill our ballots and cast our votes for the perfect video game character election featuring the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and more - it's a packed episode! And join us next episode for a deep dive on Papers, Please where we keep the political theme going.