99 episodes

A short (honest!) podcast about video games. Hosted by New York Times contributing critic Chris Suellentrop and former NPR Baghdad bureau chief JJ Sutherland.

Shall We Play a Game‪?‬ Chris Suellentrop and JJ Sutherland

    • Leisure
    • 4.8 • 85 Ratings

A short (honest!) podcast about video games. Hosted by New York Times contributing critic Chris Suellentrop and former NPR Baghdad bureau chief JJ Sutherland.

    ‘Carne y Arena’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    ‘Carne y Arena’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    You’ve got 11 days left to go see Alejandro González Iñárritu’s virtual-reality installation “Carne y Arena.” We saw it/did it/played it, and tell you why you should, too (if you’re anywhere near Washington, D.C.). 

    PS: It feels great to be back!

    We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

    NEXT TIME, WE HOPE: ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’

    SHOW NOTES:

    Review us on iTunes

    Like us on Facebook

    Follow us on Twitter

    And on Instagram

    Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com

    Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community

    Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

    • 34 min
    ‘Assassin’s Creed’: ‘Origins’ vs. ‘Syndicate’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    ‘Assassin’s Creed’: ‘Origins’ vs. ‘Syndicate’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    JJ talks about why he liked “Syndicate” more than “Origins,” while Chris begs for Discovery Modes to be retrofitted into every game in the series. Plus a dash of “God of War” (2018) and “Pillars of Eternity II.”

    We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

    NEXT TIME, WE HOPE:

    “God of War”

    SHOW NOTES:

    Review us on iTunes

    Like us on Facebook

    Follow us on Twitter

    And on Instagram

    Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com

    Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community

    Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

    • 23 min
    ‘Solo’ (and ‘God of War’!) - Shall We Play a Game?

    ‘Solo’ (and ‘God of War’!) - Shall We Play a Game?

    Our instant review of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” the first “Star Wars” movie to reference “Masters of Teras Kasi,” preceded by a paean to the “God of War” camera.

    We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

    NEXT TIME, WE HOPE:

    “God of War”

    SHOW NOTES:

    Review us on iTunes

    Like us on Facebook

    Follow us on Twitter

    And on Instagram

    Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com

    Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community

    Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

    • 47 min
    ‘Ready Player One’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    ‘Ready Player One’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    Our review of Steven Spielberg’s movie *and* Ernest Cline’s book answers the question you’ve been waiting for: What if Halliday had been into walking simulators?

    We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

    NEXT TIME, WE HOPE:

    “Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy”

    SHOW NOTES:

    Review us on iTunes

    Like us on Facebook

    Follow us on Twitter

    And on Instagram

    Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com

    Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community

    Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

    • 22 min
    ‘Florence’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    ‘Florence’ - Shall We Play a Game?

    Unknowingly, we have undertaken a journey to become America’s hottest Annapurna Interactive podcast.

    We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

    NEXT TIME, WE HOPE:

    “Ready Player One”

    SHOW NOTES:

    Review us on iTunes

    Like us on Facebook

    Follow us on Twitter

    And on Instagram

    Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com

    Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community

    Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

    • 14 min
    2017’s All-Star GOTY Spectacular - Shall We Play a Game?

    2017’s All-Star GOTY Spectacular - Shall We Play a Game?

    Better late than never: We asked 25 of the smartest people we know–game developers, critics, professors of theater and history, comedy writers, political journalists, podcasters–for their favorite video game of 2017, and got 20 answers.

    Counting Chris and JJ, that’s 27 people and 20 video games (21 if you count an honorable mention).

    STARRING, in order of appearance:

    Harvey Smith, creative director of Dishonored and Dishonored 2;

    Zach Gage, designer of Really Bad Chess, Typeshift, and SpellTower;

    Simon Parkin, author of Death by Video Game and contributor to the New Yorker;

    Brett Douville, lead programmer of Skyrim;

    Michael Abbott, theater professor at Wabash College;

    Caroline Petit, Feminist Frequency writer;

    Chris Remo, Idle Thumbs host and Campo Santo composer and designer;

    Daniel Radosh, writer for The Daily Show;

    Benjy Sarlin, political reporter for NBC News;

    Patrick Klepek, senior reporter for Vice’s Waypoint;

    Nina Freeman, level designer for Tacoma;

    Nick Suttner, author of Boss Fight Books’ Shadow of the Colossus;

    John Davison, founding editor of Rolling Stone’s Glixel;

    Bob Whitaker, Louisiana Tech historian and host of History Respawned;

    Evan Narcisse, io9 reporter and writer of Rise of the Black Panther;

    Steve Gaynor, writer and designer of Gone Home and Tacoma;

    Tom Bissell, author of Extra Lives and Apostle and writer on Gears of War 4 and Uncharted 4;

    Winnie Song, designer at Square Enix Montreal;

    Chris Plante, executive editor of Polygon;

    Mike Drucker, comedian and former writer for The Tonight Show;

    Theresa Duringer, founder of Temple Gates Games;

    Stephen Totilo, editor-in-chief of Kotaku;

    Peter Molyneux, creator of Populous, Black and White, and Fable;

    Jon Lovett, host of Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It;

    Ian Dallas, creative director of What Remains of Edith Finch

    We have a Patreon at www.patreon.com/shallweshow! We are eternally grateful to everyone who has made a pledge.

    NEXT TIME, WE HOPE:

    “Florence”

    SHOW NOTES:

    Review us on iTunes

    Like us on Facebook

    Follow us on Twitter

    And on Instagram

    Email us at questions at shallweshow dot com

    Join the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam community

    Follow the “Shall We Play a Game?” Steam Curators page

    • 1 hr 27 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
85 Ratings

85 Ratings

j0seph ballin ,

Smartest Criticism

Love the pod. Probably the most elevated discussion of video games out there. A little Star Wars fanboyish, but all is forgiven. Can’t recommend highly enough, especially if you love games and feel like half of all AAA game reviews were written by a PR department.

ArthurGame ,

Actual journalism for a maligned art

Excellent hosts who are funny and (mostly) mature. This is how you can find the cream of the crop of video games, whether for artistic merit or just good old-fashioned fun. Also good about bringing in diverse game developer, designer, and journalist experts from female, minority, and gay voices.

ChewiMash ,

Thoughtful commentary but no care to check facts

While these guys have some interesting thoughts on games and movies, they consistently fail to research or recall basic facts about plots/pronunciation of names, creating an overall frustrating experience

Update: Updating score as I do enjoy listening to these guys despite my criticism, may have been harsh on the score.

And there are absolutely Abstergo references in AC:Origins, for the record.

Top Podcasts In Leisure

Critical Role
Critical Role
Duck Call Room
Si Robertson & Justin Martin
Tales from the Stinky Dragon
Rooster Teeth
Past Gas by Donut Media
Donut
ClutterBug - Organize, Clean and Transform your Home
Clutterbug
The Big Three by Donut Media
Donut