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Submit Your Question For The MinnMax Show Podcast (Patreon)

Published:
2026-05-05 18:09:15
Imported:
2026-05
Tags:

Content

Due to an embargo, there won't be an early podcast this week for folks in the bonus podcast feed. It'll be up as soon as possible on Thursday morning though for everybody. Also, hey, did you catch the revival of our Devs Talk Shop series with Kelsey Lewin retro game shopping with developers? https://youtu.be/EWOkBf__XpE

And thanks for the glowing feedback for the new MinnMax Spotlight on Spain and Virtue and a Sledgehammer. Any help sharing this one online is appreciated so we can keep the insightful format going! https://youtu.be/oWntPAOyH8g

This week for community questions on the podcast, we'll have Ben Hanson, Jacob Geller, Kyle Hilliard, Janet Garcia, and special guest Kahlief Adams from Spawn On Me. It's your turn to make the show better by leaving a question, news story, BetterQuest goal, or anything else for us to read on the show as a comment below! We’ll choose our favorite and iam8bit will ship out the great prize below for the winner! We'll stop pulling questions around 8am Central on Wednesday.

On this week’s episode we’ll be talking about...

Mixtape

Saros

Dead as Disco

NBA The Run

Aphelion

Everybody at the Backstage Pass tier can watch us record the show live on Wednesday, with an exclusive pre and post show. The unedited archive will be available to view after the fact. You could do us a favor by subscribing to the audio version of the podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app, telling a friend, leaving a review, and subscribing to our YouTube channel!

https://apple.co/3lRbzbE

https://www.youtube.com/minnmax

You can also find this item for sale in iam8bit’s online store, and you can use the promo code STRAWBERRYFIELDS for 10% off everything under $100. Psst… please don’t post that promo code anywhere else on the internet. It’s a MinnMax-exclusive thing. https://www.iam8bit.com/collections/all

Files

Comments

Neal McMahon

I was thinking about this really hard today, and it honestly stopped me in my tracks: should we stop trying to get to know more people? Hear me out. It feels like the more you know someone, the more layers of them you uncover — and one of those layers is often a little meaner than the version you first met. When people are strangers, everyone is polite. Everyone is careful. But once you become closer and more comfortable with someone, a different side starts to come out. A lot of the time it shows up through humor or teasing, but it almost feels like familiarity gives people permission to be a little harsher with you because they know you better. The closer people get, the more the filters come down. So it made me wonder: would we actually avoid a lot of hurt and meanness if we just stopped trying to deeply know more people?

Mike R.

Any chance in the world we can have Haley Da Boom as one of the cohorts?

Jacob Mazanowski

What extinct animal would you bring back to healthy population?

Arturo Perez

Hi Minnmax! What is the Minn version of yourself, what is the Max version of yourself? Take careee

Arianna

Content suggestion: Can we get a Pew Pew Bang episode that covers the Nancy Drew game series at some point? Like a point and click or mystery game episode? Question for the MinnMax crew: One thing that makes the game discussions on here so enjoyable is that the commentary always feels honest and unique from what I hear/read in mainstream gaming outlets. I am curious how much (if at all) you feel reluctant to voice harsher criticisms of games, companies, industry figures, etc. I imagine it must be difficult to strike the right balance given how insular the professional pond can be, not to mention how historically vicious the broader gamer community is capable of becoming toward more critical/opinionated voices. Any insight would be interesting to hear. Keep up the amazing content!

Jacob Mazanowski

What imaginary or fantasy creature would you replace Cows, Pigs, and Chickens with?

Joey Smith

I have tens of thousands of cell phone photos from the past 12 years. I have been sorting through them finding which to save, but it’s very time intensive. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it?

Jump On Everything

There's been a lot of talk of dad games but what are some examples of mom games? My suggestion would be returnal.

Fancygraham

Where are we at with “lol”? Personally, I think it’s alright to throw in to a message occasionally. But maybe I’m way off base.

Travis in Fargo

Is a choose your own adventure e-book the closest thing to being a video game that’s not actually a video game? If not, what is?

Bob Buel

When I was a kid, I had a Sega Genesis, and every now and then something strange would happen. Completely at random, I’d boot up a game and somehow land in a level select or debug menu. I specifically remember it happening with Jurassic Park and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but I’m pretty sure it occurred with a few other games too. Suddenly, I could jump to late-game levels and bosses I had no business reaching with my baby gamer skills. Looking back, I assume it had something to do with the console’s RAM—maybe from pulling out a cartridge or hitting reset while it was still powered on, or some other technical quirk. But as a kid, it felt almost magical. But what’s always stuck with me is that I’ve never heard anyone talk about this - not in podcasts, not in YouTube retrospectives, nowhere. Has anyone else experienced something like this? Or run into a one-off glitch you could never replicate?

George Perry

Hey gang! What y'all reading at the moment?

Thradriend

Games have come a long way in their storytelling. What’s the last game that made you cry or tear up? Ori always gets me in the feels.

Jordan Seefeldt

Do you take notes while playing games? If so, do you only do it if you think you'll talk about the game on content?

RynaGoGo

Hey MinnMax, What animal that you aren’t supposed to eat are you craving to eat? Hippo rump roast? Giraffe neck? Bald Eagle leg? I’d eat some panda for sure.

Palo

Having just done a flight to/from Spain, and with others about to do the long flight to Japan. What tips do y'all have for longer flights?

Ray Sweat

I always enjoy when you guys occasionally discuss your favotie 7/10 games. Have any games been added to that list in the last few years? For me it would be Littlewood and Coffee Talk.

Nathan Ryer

With women’s sports growing in popularity, where are all the women’s sports games? I would kill for an Unrivaled game in the style of NBA Jam/Hangtime or NBA Street vol. 2. A good arcade style NWSL game would be amazing too.

landsealion

Where have all the browser games gone? Are you playing some? It seems like we should have more than ever before. Are they all just apps now?

Dr Gonzo

Hey there minnmaxers! Quick question, what fictional food from a movie, tv show, videogame or book would you most want to eat in real life???

Jacob Mazanowski

If Video Games were like American Sports and had a Draft and Publishers (Sony, Xbox, EA, Nintendo, Devolver, etc) What studios would be the top 3-5 picks? My Big Board (only 1-5): 1. Super Giant 2. Team Cherry 3. Mega Crit 4. Poncle 5. Toby Fox

Jackson Davis

I’m going on a month-long work trip to Japan soon, and although I’ve been slowly learning Japanese for a couple years, I’m nowhere near conversational. It’ll also be my first time solo traveling to a country that doesn’t speak English as a primary language. Recent travelers Ben and Jacob, what’s the most useful tip you’ve recently learned for this kind of travel?

Juniper Cain

Hi Minnmax! I remember playing Audiosurf when I was younger and thinking "wow, the game changing to the beat of my favourite music? This is the coolest thing ever" and yet looking at Dead as Disco having the same feature today, it doesn't feel like there's as many games as I'd expect doing similar, and basically all the ones that do are indies. ...How come there aren't more and bigger studios letting you do the coolest thing ever?

Frostphorus

I think most of us have a leaving the house mantra, something like "phone, wallet, keys" as we are checking to make sure we have everything. My mantra is "phone, wallet, keys, nothing is on fire" so I dont leave the stove, candles, heated blanket or dryer on. Do you have a leaving the house mantra and what have you added to it over time?

Travis in Fargo

Would you live in a place that people said was 100% guaranteed haunted? Why or why not?

Jacob Mazanowski

What’s the most peaceful animal? Something about being outside with Humming Birds, and Butterflies just seems so relaxing. Throw in a Japanese Garden and some Sea Turtles and that would be my paradise

Thom Blackburn

"Corporations are people!" Sure buddy, Okay, so if one of the big three (PlayStation Xbox and Nintendo) were running for president who would you choose based SOLELY on their reputation for being ethical?

BEEFCAKE

Hey bacob and crew. The second anniversary of the Minnmax 5th anniversary meet-up is coming up. I'm kinda thinking you all should just go to Halifax and hangout with Haley instead being her coming here is such an issue. Otherwise it'll be the 10th anniversary meet-up before you know it

Tyler Warner

Hi Minnmax! I was wondering if you guys could talk about your relationship to speed running in games! I’m wondering if any of you do any speed running yourselves or if you like watching Games Done Quick or other speed running events? If you’ve never attempted a speed run yourselves before, what game would you pick to speed run if you had to? Thank you so much!!

Victor Pham

What are the essential elements of a compelling story?

Aaron

If you had to delete a whole franchise/IP from existence, what would you pick and why? What do you see the reprocissions being?

Nemesis

How many times should I listen to the podcast?

Shane G

When, if ever have you stopped playing a game because it was too easy? Boringly so. I stopped playing Ni No Kuni 2 a few hours in mainly because of this, but I still didn't care for it much after they patched in difficulty modes so there were likely other reasons. In other games I've loved the early challenge but lost interest once I got over the hump of it.

Ashley Dean

This past month I’ve been really enjoying Cairn, RE2 and Hitman… a common theme is how long I’ve spent in the maps of each of these games - I think I’ve got just as much joy pouring over them than exploring the worlds… What are your favourite maps? In games… or otherwise? For me it’s Pilotwings 64 (a miniature version of the full world, complete with hidden tunnels and other secrets… much like Cairn). IRL it’s the 1992 Atlas of Europe we had in the back of our car when I was growing up. I would plot routes through the cool lakes of Finland while we were boiling in the South of France.

Sergio

Hello Minnmax! What is the most hopeful game?

Martin Hollis

Dear Minnmax - does any animal just confuse you? I both do and don't understand how camels exist.

Sky Fellowship

Following the chaos over the Steam controller (I did get one so this isn't a bad faith/sour grapes question), does anyone else wish we could pre-order and prepay for tech so that they actually know how much stock to make to meet demand day 1? I say this cause there's companies who use Kickstarter for this, see the recent Cyberpunk TCG Kickstarter for a prime example, that entire campaign was to avoid scalpers ruining the experience day 1 of launch. This way everyone who wanted to, could pay in advance and know they're going to get the decks, play mats, booster packs and everything else, without fear of waking up on the right day at the exact right time and getting to the store or ordering online at the exact second orders went live. I understand companies like to drive false demand with FOMO, but it's 2026, we know fine well there's better ways to do this.

thewholehamdamily

Hey, MinnMax. I started Replaced recently and it occurred to me that many cinematic platformers like Replaced and Inside seem to start with the character rolling down a hill into the woods. Is there enough evidence to call this a trope? What are some of your favorite tropes that you have noticed developing over the years?

Brian Ventura

In anticipation of GTA VI, I've been thinking about how much I love the driving from GTA IV. Much like the warthog in Halo, I feel like I'm about 70% in control of the vehicle. I feel like my experience is 70% predictable and 30% chaotic unpredictability. It has dawned on me that 70% is the perfect amount of predictability to make video games (if not life) feel their best. What is the perfect percentage of order and chaos?

Bryan Tylec

Hey, I don’t know about the rest of your listeners, but I often find myself thinking about how I would answer if Ben ever asked me if I know how this whole thing operates. And last week Leo responded in the way that I would’ve (by exclaiming “No…do YOU?” So can you please thank Leo for me for finally helping me get that monkey off my back?

Machine Gun Keeley

Hey Minnmax crew, what do you think is the funniest "guard animal"? Keep in mind that any guard animal that is not capable of guarding would require enhancements to help. So, for example, a guard fish would need some type of laser or gun or robotic exo-skeleton.

Tess

Hey MinnMax! If you had to choose a game you didn't love and it magically becomes your favorite game of all time, what would you pick?

Caleb Sorenson

I enjoyed the spotlight so much on the channel and it had me thinking. What game from any era do you wish you could have had the opportunity to see the development of in person and get to interview the developers?

Bagman15

Hello MinnMax! With Mixtape following teens spending their last moments together and reminiscing through music. What song would you choose that best represented your transition from high school to college/young adulthood? You all are the best!

Travis in Fargo

As far as you can recall, what’s the highest number you’ve ever counted to? And - why did you count that high?

pork bun powered

Hi MinnMax! There's a lot of 70s, 80s, and 90s nostalgia but hardly any 00s nostalgia as far as I can tell. I don't mean nostalgia for a particular 90s franchise, but nostalgia for that decade itself. Are there modern 00s nostalgia bait that I'm missing? If not, what would it look like?

Random Oil Man

As a new dad, with limited time, and gaming reserved for a few 4ams after bottle feeding a baby to sleep, what games have the best time to quality ratio? I'm not gonna spend 200hrs on a yakuza game, but I also don't want to waste 10hrs playing 5 underwhelming short indies...

thejjuan1

Hi Minnmax crew. Any updated thoughts on Marathon? Paul Tassi made a video on it recently. He explained that he’s a big Bungie guy. But they made a game that he doesn't enjoy. That seems like the case for many people. Either people love this game, or enforce their beliefs on extraction shooters. That's a genre not for them.

Brian W

What predictions do you guys have for the next Mario game and does the movie give us any hints at what to expect? For example, Does the new galaxy movie lore make its way to the games? Do you want galaxy sequel, Odyssey sequel, or something new?

Sam Hookom

Without thinking about it too seriously, what is the most recent game you’ve played for the first time that is in your top 20 games of all time?

Luis

If you were to start a MinnMax themed restaurant, what are some fun food names you’d have on the menu? Would we see Hanson’s Honey-Glazed Ham or maybe Community Calzones? What are some other dishes for the rest of the crew?

resnet

Hi MinnMax! Everyone loves to fly, but what kind of flying would you choose to have if you could fly? Helicopter style, gliding style, flapping style, rocket boots or even jetpack style?

FinalSin

Hey Good People, do achievements and trophies , still mean anything to you , the older you get? And, or do you get that empty feeling when playing a Nintendo game?

CrabPalace

In some games I'm happy to die repeatedly, but in some I get frustrated at every death because I just want to continue the experience without interruption. How often are you happy to die vs not?

Swansonge

If you were a bean, what kind of bean would you be?

Karpfkaesque

With Mother's Day approaching and yet another game about fatherhood having a moment in the spotlight, I think it would be apt to shoutout games that explore motherhood. What are some of the most interesting games you all can recommend that are about being a mum? Also hi mum, I'm on TV!

Rosemarythefarmer

What do all of your favorite games have in common?

SlyCut

Hello all, What's the biggest/longest/hardest game you've fully completed? I'm talking 100%, done everything there is to do, got the platinum! It may be Metal Gear Solid 2 for me. Every dog tag on every difficulty, over 500 VR missions, and of course, the Big Boss rating.

WeGoGiant

What's a thing that when you see people enjoying it you can't help but think to yourself "why?"

j_tosavetheday

Hi MinnMax Cohorts! Do you have any songs that repeatedly live in your head and play back to you from your mind in specific situations? Not just limited to video game music, but any and all music. My example happens to be from a video game: ever since starting Final Fantasy XI as a teenager in the early 2000's, the menu and character creation theme "Vana'diel March" has begun to play in my mind any time that I am nervous or anxious. The song's march-like rhythm and kind of aspirational tone helps offset my internal negativities and mind wandering and seems to help me balance out to a more calm demeanor. I consider this song something of a "mind worm," or like a more intense "ear worm." Do you have examples of this mental phenomenon?

September's Wake-up

Hey Minnmaxers, had a question but understand if you skip it for reasons that will be obvious. Was your logo at all inspired by the Up&Up Target store brand? I noticed their logo also used the arrows, and wondered if that was an homage to Minnesota since both Minnmax & Target are located there. Thanks, Store Brand shopper in the Midwest

Stephen Woodson

Howdy MinnMax, How do you store your controllers? Asking for a friend... Cheers, -Stevo

Rory Gladstone

If you could choose the difficulty setting for your life, what would you choose? And what other game options do you wish were available to tweak irl?

McGreevy

Hi cohorts. As jocob mentioned on bonus pod with this deconstruct team code give away comes the chance to 100% a studio. I recently finally played FTL after years of loving into the breach. Subset Games has a perfect record imo. Lucas Pope is the same to me, perfect portfolio. Do y'all have a studio or dev you think has a perfect portfolio?

Jon Øvrebø Dubielzyk

Hey. What's your best life-hack? Even if it's just to trick yourself and it's not that useful? Mine was that I used to set an alarm for 6am even though I needed to wake up at 7am. That way I felt like I got a surprise extra hour of sleep. Didn't last that long though.

AnAttackCorgi

Hello MinnMaxers! What’s the best “entry point” for the following video game series? Yakuza FromSoft Series Fire Emblem Monster Hunter Legend of Zelda Final Fantasy Resident Evil Mega Man Pokémon To me, entry point means the game is approachable to the interested player, and features the best of what makes the series beloved. Feel free to add your own suggestions!

AnAttackCorgi

Question for Kahlief: in Episode 6 of your podcast, you talked about who’s left the industry by choice and who’s been forced out. You also mentioned who shouldn’t be in the industry at all. Do you have any names you’d like to discuss over a decade later?

Travis in Fargo

My wife is playing a video game that she couldn’t remember the name of. She called it “The Spunky Pirate, or something,” and she was talking about “The Plucky Squire.” That just made me laugh, so I wanted to share it.

Fro

Considering you interact so often, is there ever a time that someone on the podcast with you gets on your nerves. What are your podcast pet peeves?

Malcolm Holliday

Hey MinnMax, what video game title would make a good name for a pizza topping/style?

Ariel in Seattle

Ben: Mr. Beast on Survivor. Comments? I was dreading this episode but pleased he didn't overstay his welcome.

Taylor Carr

WWE SummerSlam (the next biggest event after WrestleMania) is coming to Minneapolis in July. It would be so cool if you send 2 or more cohorts to cover it!

Matt Splat

Through your connections at the Pentagon you get tipped off that the internet is about to be shut off forever. You have 3 hours notice. What games do you start downloading to keep yourselves entertained in the Twitter-less Apocalypse? I’d go with big games with multiple ending and play through possibilities like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring. What about you?

Florim Binakaj

A few times over the years different cohorts have made reference to consulting work they do/have done. Can you explain more about what this is in practice? Is it mock reviews? Playtesting? Writing/edits?

lilfresh

Hi cohorts! What percentage of the US population do you think could accurately describe what a “roguelike” game is? Over the last several years I’ve seen the term used more and more in official marketing, and I’ve been wondering if video game companies are becoming too insular with their terminology.

Alon Zwick

Are there any games you regret finishing?

LlorchDurden

Ben! Yes no, maybe, I don't know, can you repeat the question? :P

Jordan Holmdahl

Hello all! I have a question specifically for Kyle since he just wrapped up Star Trek: Deep Space 9. I apologize if someone else already asked you this; but do you have any nominees for the best, worst, and (to steal a phrase from Hanson and Jeff Cork) most aggressively mediocre episodes of DS9? That recently became one of my favorite shows, and I'm very happy to have seen some of Kyle's enthusiasm. Have a good one, Jordan

Ollie Clay

Hey crew! I’d never played a resident evil before and wanted to try a couch coop shooter on switch, so my partner and I decided to play resident evil 5. We had so much fun with it, yet it is undeniably messy, rarely actually scary, and you could argue that it’s terrible and i wouldn’t necessarily disagree. But we enjoyed playing it together so much that we’re going to play 6 coop next, which I’ve heard is even worse. What are the best memories you have playing bad games that are made fun with your friends? Any coop recommendations to play with my sweetie?

Jason Wojnar

What scars from childhood injuries do you have? I have one near my eye from falling and hitting the corner of a couch with my face as a baby and one on my knee when I was 10 from when I slipped after a shower and my knee rammed right into the sharp corner of a wall.

CptCobblePot

Greetings Minnmaxers, With all the travel recently at Minnmax, what’s your portable gaming setup? Retro, bulky modern, emulation, or are you phone only?

Tyler Carver

Hey y'all, What are some design choices you hate the most from the genres you love the most? Recently played through super Mario 3D world and Sackboy's Big Adventure and came to the conclusion I hate a platforming level that has a stationary platform being pulled through an environment, also levels that slowly scroll to the right! I want to have complete control of how quickly I move through an environment. Hope this finds you well,

Luca Alberti

Hello MM crew! When was the last time you planeted a tree/plant? Let this be a subtle nudge to plant some more

Duderado

Capes in video games and movies are the coolest yet no one wears them in real life. What's up with that?

Victor Hensley

Howdy MinnMax! After hearing Delaware mentioned on a recent episode of the award-winning LEO//WIN show, I began to wonder…which US states have been mentioned the most on the MinnMax Show? What about the least? So, naturally, I went to our friends over at Filmot to pull the data from MinnMax’s YouTube channel! When looking through it, I tried to filter out instances where the state wasn’t actually being mentioned (ex: Indiana Jones, “Maine” vs “Main,” George Washington, etc.), but I’m sure I missed some. All that said, here’s the unofficial list of MinnMax’s 10 Favorite and Least Favorite US States: Favorites: 1. Minnesota (659) 2. New York (298) 3. California (261) 4. Texas (220) 5. Oregon (119) T-6. Florida (116) T-6. Wisconsin (116) T-6. Hawaii (116) 9. North Carolina (94) 10. Kentucky (91) Least Favorites: 1. New Hampshire (5) T-2. Alabama (7) T-2. West Virginia (7) 4. Delaware (8) 5. Rhode Island (9) 6. Arkansas (10) 7. Indiana (12) 8. North Dakota (15) 9. Virginia (15) 10. Oklahoma (16)

Fraser Macdonald

Hi Minnmax! Every year for my birthday I host a video game tournament for my friends where we all duke it out for a dumb fishing trophy engraved with "GG." Each year I try to get a good mix of games, 4 in total. Including mainstays, like Mario Kart and Goldeneye, to more niche retro games, like Windjammers and Chu Chu Rocket. As you can imagine, it's tough to come up with a new line-up each year, so what are some of your favourite versus multiplayer games? I've got a decent retro console collection I'm really proud of so don't be shy with any older and more obscure games!

Adam Castellanos

What book do you think everyone should read before they die?

Memory Card

Have your Miis in Tomodachi Life said something is "a bit naff"? You may be playing a British English translation. There are subtle, and not so subtle, differences in the localisations for the English versions of some games, depending on your region. Have you ever played a game across different localisations/English translations? Did we even play the same Link Between Worlds?

Jack Seage

Ahoy hoy, everybody! What's up with middle names? Why is there this weird sense of secrecy to them, and then why do some people not have them at all? How many people in your life do you know the middle name of?

Paulo Yonamine

Hi MinnMax crew, I truly value the thoughtful discourse you bring to the industry. However, I want to raise a difficult but necessary conversation regarding the demographic makeup of games media and how that impacts the way games are critiqued. While we’ve seen progress in gender representation, the core of games media remains overwhelmingly white and centered in English-speaking territories (US, UK, and Australia). This creates a notable blind spot when covering the massive volume of work coming out of Japan, China, and Korea. We often see the industry normalize reductive or even micro-aggressive framing—using terms like 'Crazy Japanese game' or 'weird' to describe cultural nuances that aren't actually weird, just unfamiliar to a Western staff. A recent example is Silent Hill f. It felt largely overlooked or misunderstood because many outlets lacked the historical or cultural literacy to explain its specific Shōwa-era setting or folk-horror roots. Conversely, we see games like the French-developed Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 receive immediate Western acclaim, seemingly because it translates 'JRPG' tropes into a more familiar Western aesthetic. Even with Sarah and Haley’s upcoming trip to Japan, the focus appears to be an interview with a white developer working abroad. My question is: How does a team like MinnMax work to solve this lack of cultural perspective? Is there a conscious effort to bring in voices with deep knowledge of East Asian cultures to ensure we aren’t just viewing the global industry through a narrow, Western lens? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how games media can move past 'othering' international games and start truly understanding them.