SecondWindGroup

Universe for Sale Is a Stellar Example of Nonlinear Storytelling | Bytesized

A new episode of Bytesized is now available from Jess Hoops!

Please, Stop with All the Menus | Unpacked

This week's episode of Unpacked is now available!

COLUMN: Why Can't Marvel Let the X-Men Evolve? | by Darren Mooney

With X-Men ’97 releasing on Disney+ and with Deadpool and Wolverine looking to be one of the biggest movies of the summer, it seems like a good opportunity to talk about Marvel’s merry mutants.

Of course, it’s also a pretty crucial time for the X-Men in the comics as well. Marvel are in the process of winding down “the Krakoa Era”, a bold departure ...

[AD-FREE] The Many Challenges of Games Criticism | Firelink Podcast

This week on Firelink, Marty, KC, and Nick chat about what it's like to be a games critic as a follow-up to our discussion on how there's just so much media these days!

Unicorn Overlord’s Story is Hampered by its Simplicity | Bytesized

A new episode of Bytesized is now available from Elise Avery!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | Fully Ramblomatic

This week's episode of Fully Ramblomatic is now available!

[AD-FREE] The Worst Things About our Favorite Games | Windbreaker Podcast

On this week’s episode of Windbreaker, Yahtzee, Frost, and Marty chat about the worst things in their favorite games -- from Super Metroid’s wall-jumping, to the Okumura boss in Persona 5, to the final quarter of most From Soft games.

[COLUMN] The Sympathizer Feels Like a Farewell to Prestige Peak TV | by Darren Mooney

The Sympathizer launched on HBO this weekend. It’s very good, a highlight in what has been – to date – a tremendous year for television.

The Sympathizer is adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. It is overseen by legendary South Korean director Park Chan-wook, regarded as one of the best filmmakers working today. It has an i...

In-Game Monetization Keeps Getting Murkier | Cold Take

This week's episode of Cold Take is now available!

[COLUMN] Fallout is a Nostalgic Post Apocalyptic Western | by Darren Mooney

NOTE: This piece contains mild spoilers for the first season of Fallout. Primarily backstory stuff, very little plot-driving information, but just worth flagging. The first season is fun, so check it out. If you want to go in completely blind, you can bookmark and check back later.

Fallout is, in many ways, a post apocalyptic western.

This is true...

Some Schedule Changes!

Heads up on an upcoming schedule change!

Good Blood will no longer be a every other week show going forward as Javed wanted to get back to making the bigger video essays he's known for, starting with and completing the Metal Gear Legend series he started back on The Escapist!

Longform essays is something we don't have on the channel yet, and there's no better person for them than Javed, so we're excited to make this change and bring some really high-quality stuff to you when it'...

[COLUMN] Alex Garland's Civil War is Apocalypse Now on the Potomac | by Darren Mooney

Note: This piece contains mild spoilers for Civil War.

Alex Garland’s Civil War is not a political polemic, but instead a descent into madness.

The movie portrays a vision of the United States that has collapsed into Civil War, but the movie largely avoids providing any backstory or exposition to explain what happened, beyond the broadest strok...

The Making of Adventure is Nigh | Documentary

During the Season 3 shoot of Adventure is Nigh back in 2023, we took some time to make a little making of documentary about how the show came to be!

We're excited to finally share it with you.

The Baffling Design Decisions of Dragons Dogma 2 | Design Delve

This week's episode of Design Delve is now available!

[AD-FREE] Guys... There's A Lot of Media | Firelink Podcast

This week on Firelink, Marty, KC, and Nick chat about the absolute deluge of games, movies, and TV that we currently find ourselves in.

The Rebound After Cyberpunk 2077 Interview with Yahtzee & JM8

While we were at GDC 2024, Yahtzee and JM8 got to sit down with CD Projekt RED to discuss the redemption arc of Cybeprunk 2077 in a really candid interview!

The Importance of a Good Monster Introduction | Semi-Ramblomatic

This week's episode of Semi-Ramblomatic is now available!

Dragon's Dogma 2 | Fully Ramblomatic

This week's episode of Fully Ramblomatic is now available!

[AD-FREE] How to Build a Better Save System | Windbreaker Podcast

On this week’s episode of Windbreaker, Yahtzee, Frost, and Marty chat about the history of save systems, the games that did it differently, and the ones that dropped the ball.

Shōgun is One of the Year's Best Shows | The Backdrop

This week's episode of The Backdrop is now available!

Yahtzee and JM8's GDC 2024 Adventure!

Our big GDC video with Yahtzee and JM8 is now available!

We'll have an interview with CDPR going up later this week as well so stay tuned for that!

Enjoy!

The Bright Side of Gaming | Cold Take

This week's episode of Cold Take is now available!

Note: Credits are now fixed as well, thanks for your patience!

[COLUMN] In Ripley, A Con Artist Can Escape Anything But Himself | by Darren Mooney

Note: This piece contains spoilers for Ripley, which is streaming on Netflix and is great.

There is a deep and unsettling loneliness to Ripley, Steven Zaillian’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.

This has always been a challenge when adapting Highsmith’s prose to the screen. Kerry Manders observed that Anthony ...

Bears in Space, A Difficult Game About Climbing, Pepper Grinder and Frogmonster | Yahtzee Tries

The edited version of Yahtzee Tries is back!

Note: We had an error in the credits which will be fixed for tomorrow's episode of Cold Take, apologies!

[COLUMN] The Omen Franchise Isn't Just About Religion, It's About Politics | by Darren Mooney

The default assumption when talking about The Omen is to compare it to The Exorcist. This makes a great deal of sense. These are both 1970s demonic horror movies that grapple with similar themes about parents confronting offspring that they no longer recognize as their own<...

The Adventure is Nigh Crew Answers Your Burning Questions

BRAND NEW Adventure is Nigh content for you!

This was supposed to be released like half a year ago back on The Escapist, but you know, things happened!

Next week, the behind the scenes documentary!

Second Wind x AbleGamers 12-Hour Charity Stream - April 18th

On Thursday April 18th, Second Wind will be hosting a 12-hour charity event stream in support of AbleGamers!

We'll be playing a number of different games and rotating hosts throughout the day as we raise money to help give back for all the support we've received.

We will be utilizing Tiltify so that all the funds raised go directly to AbleGamers.

More details next week on what games we'll be playing, sched...

What the Heck Does AAA Even Mean Anymore? | Unpacked

This week's episode of Unpacked is now available!

[COLUMN] Monkey Man Begins as a Revenge Thriller, and Evolves Into Something More Interesting | by Darren Mooney

Note: This piece contains spoilers for Monkey Man. If you haven’t seen it - and you should, it’s great! - feel free to bookmark and come back. It’s worth seeing knowing as little as possible.

Dev Patel’s Monkey Man hits the ground running.

From the outset, the movie clues the audience in on what to expect. The protagonist, Kid (Patel), is intro...

[AD-FREE] The End of the Game-Funding Gold Rush | Firelink Podcast

This week on Firelink, Marty, KC, and Nick chat about the end of the game funding gold rush that's been happening over the last few years.