For this episode The Beats Crew put down their controllers and pick up their remote controls to watch the recently released show Secret Level. This new anthology show on Amazon features bite sized episodes with unique takes on 15 different games. The games range from old classics like Pac-Man and Mega Man, more modern offerings like The Outer Worlds and Sifu, and then some lesser known franchises such as New World and Crossfire.

As to be expected, opinions vary on each episode with some people energized to play games in the franchises that they haven't played before, and others being less impressed and having no desire to find out more. And then to cap things off it's a double dose of Secret Level trivia! With Secret Level Season 2 already being confirmed, what games would you want to see featured? Let us know at beatofthemonth@gmail.com!

It's early in the year and the Beat of the Month Crew are taking a look at all the games coming out in 2025. But to make things a little more interesting we are not just talking about the games - but drafting them! Just like you would for Fantasy Football, we are picking what we think will be the highest rated games of 2025 and choosing them to fill our roster of games. The rules are a bit different from your typical fantasy draft, but we explain it all during the episode.

Will Grand Theft Auto 6 truly come out this year? Will Elden Ring Nightreign continue the FromSoft streak of highly rated games? Some tough choices lie ahead (and some already proven to be mistakes since we recorded...). If you want to follow along with our progress during the year go to 'fantasycritic.games' and follow our league 'The Beats'!

It's our first episode of 2025 and the beats crew are taking a look back at all the games we played in 2024! It's a packed episode kicked off with our annual award show and picks for best games of the year. We also reflect on our favorite gaming moments and run down the stats for all the games we played. Want more? We also unveil our new rating system that will take affect for 2025 as well as the winner from our Nintendo Switch online giveaway. More??? As if that wasn't enough, we then choose the ultimate game of the year award from all of the past Game Award winners. WOW!

Thanks to everyone for listening in 2024 - we've got a bunch of fun episodes planned for 2025! Just a reminder that if you want us to pick a certain theme or ask us a question to please send us an email at beatofthemonth@gmail.com. We hope to hear from you!

Here at Beat of the Month we vote on a theme of the month each and every month (hence the title of the show) and then we play games on that theme. For this month the votes were tallied and the winner was...Dickcember. What exactly is Dickcember do you ask? Well that's a great question since even the people who voted for it don't know!

What I do know, is we played games such as Sonic X Shadow Generations, Cyberpunk, The Grinch that stole Christmas, Alan Wake 2 - and more! We also talked a bit about The Game Awards to kick things off since we recorded shortly after the show aired.

Join us next episode for our own award show where we talk about all the games we played in 2024 as well as our most memorable gaming moments, our year in review stats, and a special segment where we rank the past Game Award winners. We look forward to another year of great themes in 2025!

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!