Rowan, Len, and Nerium hitch their wagon to Darkest Dungeon 2 and set in for the long haul on this epic-length episode. We discuss some of the ways this sequel is an improvement over one of 3MA's consensus favorite games of all time (that we somehow never did a dedicated episode on), and several ways in which it's not. What kind of parties did we like to roll with? How have things changed since early access? And is there a cooler narrator than Wayne June? By the end, you might even get to hear us have a Meltdown ..read more

Rowan, Nerium, and Luke set off into the fantasy landscape of Wartales to give a glimpse at one of the most robust tactical management games we've seen in a while. They discuss how it's a counterpoint to – and possibly even a commentary on – Battle Brothers in a couple of interesting ways. You'll also hear perspectives from both of its world scaling settings, to help you decide if you'd rather have everything automatically scale to your current party, or tackle the more dangerous, "MMO-style" version where each region comes with a set level and may be deadlier than you're ready for ..read more

This week, Rowan teams up with Fanbyte's Mike Williams and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to discuss Terra Nil, a "city builder in reverse" about restoring the natural ecosystem of a devastated planet. We break down what makes this concept so compelling, feelgood, and relaxing, as well as what it could have done differently to fill a more simulationist niche ..read more

We have a packed panel this week as Jon is joined by Fanbyte's Mike Williams and Nerium Strom, Waypoint's Renata Price, and Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew to hop into the cockpit on Phantom Brigade. This is far from the first turn-based mech game we've talked about, so why were there so many people excited to talk about it that we couldn't even include them all on one show? What are our biggest criticisms, and why did we end up digging it regardless ..read more

Rob and Ian are joined by Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to dig in to Company of Heroes 3. The long-awaited World War II RTS left us with mixed feelings, between a dynamic campaign that just doesn't really work and some of the best battle maps the series has ever seen. So how does it all stack up when the smoke clears? And what about that North Africa operation ..read more

Len, Jon, and Ian kick off what is to be an ongoing series revisiting some big ideas in strategy games that we haven't covered since Ye Olde Podcast Days of Yore. This time around, we're taking a fresh look at religion, which we last gave its own show waaay back in 2009. How have strategy games changed their depiction of spiritual practices in the last decade or so, and how are they still stuck in certain ruts? We also discuss some of our favorite non-standard takes on religion like Frostpunk and Terra Invicta, and share some thoughts on what we'd like to see done differently ..read more

It's a NoCBcast semi-reunion as Len is joined by Lambert (https://www.youtube.com/Lambert2191) and Father Lorris (https://www.chapelcomic.com/) to discuss Anbennar, our favorite Europa Universalis IV total conversion mod. Have you ever wondered how elite elven archers would fare against 18th Century line infantry? What if the Protestant Reformation was kicked off by the literal death of a god? It's epic high fantasy meets the early modern world and we can't recommend it enough ..read more

Len, Rowan, and Mike Gillis take peek ahead at the roster of strategy games that are maybe, probably, or definitely coming out (or coming out of Early Access) in 2023. We also take an aside for some informed speculation on what some suspiciously quiet heavy-hitters like Total War and Civilization might be concocting. Also, who is Hooded Horse and why are they publishing everything we're into now ..read more

Len is joined by PCGamesN's Ian Boudreau, Fanbyte's Mike Williams, and 3MA Janitor Emeritus Mike Gillis to give a thoughtful post-mortem on the year that was 2022. What were the big ideas? What were our favorite games? What disappointed us ..read more

Jon and Len are joined by Fanbyte's Mike Williams and freelance writer Gita Jackson to celebrate and discuss the steam release of Dwarf Fortress. We dig greedily and deep into what makes this game so special, the moments we'll always remember, and some of our favorite little guys ..read more