Bonus Level - Wellbeing Special

Thursday the 10th of October marks World Mental Health Awareness day. In recognition of this, our trio tell personal stories of how videogames can be a force for good in managing mental health and periods of distress or low mood.

Clone Hero, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, A Link to the Past, Alto's Adventure, Tetris, and Super Mario Bros 3. Disparate games linked here by their ability to make our triumvirate slow down, refocus, and calm.

Videogames may not be the solution for everyone, but we at Our Three Cents firmly believe in their value as tools for offering escapism, structure, or soothing nostalgia when the world seems a difficult place.

Much love to all listening. Be kind to one another.

Number 67 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Metroid Fusion, Ico

It’s another week, and a Bank Holiday Monday, so what better way to enjoy your bonus time than by listening to this week’s episode! We discuss mobile games, virtual reality and disappointing woodland adventures. And Feathers are ruffled in the rankings this week, as we discuss what it feels like to be scared, what it feels like to be small and, most importantly, just how much starch belongs in a floppy green hat! 

And if that doesn’t get you listening, I know that you’re going to want to know which game has a tenuous link to the forgotten, and incredibly niche Sega Saturn release, Enemy Zero. Listen on to find out!

Number 77 - Fantasy Life, Super Hexagon, Paper Mario: Color Splash

This week on Our Three Cents, Jonathan recalls how he lived out his best fantasy life in deepest Africa, Chris descends into a hypnotic claustrophobic nightmare to pass some time, and find out why Color Splash is the Titanic of the Paper Mario series.

Elsewhere, Jonathan has gone on an Indie Game spree tackling a series of games including a small, bespectacled scientist, a big ol’ face-rock and electrified tentacled atrocities. Chris had a few small weeps experiencing an Old Man’s Journey and Minty has been having a wonderfully idyllic time randomly naming a variety of chickens!

Number 82 - Pokémon Snap, SteamWorld Heist, Dragon Quest

This week on Our Three Cents, Minty joins in the Dead Cells fun, just as Jonathan is moving on to playing, what seems like literally, all the other games - ping-ponging from the ludicrously unchallenging Yoshi’s Crafted World to the sadistically-designed Shakira: Hips Lie Twice, and covering a myriad of other recent releases in between! Meanwhile Chris is getting his retro on with some lovely electro-synth mobile pinball action! The chaps also discuss their 82nd favourite video games of all time featuring such classic video-game tropes as shallow tools, pickup trucks, strategic anxiety and the origins of grinding! Plus our dear old friend, nominative determinism rears their appropriately-named head - gender un-assumed.

Number 86 - Angry Birds Trilogy, Dragon Age Origins, Counter Strike: Condition Zero

In a real trip down memory lane, this week the chaps recount all manner of recollections from hungover poolside birds, astrally-projected book clouds, and shouting incendiary warnings during vintage old-school threesomes! Plus Chris embarks on a new RPG to try and finish in the next 10 years, find out what’s hiding in Minty’s chest, and witness Jonathan suffering with a severe case of Dead Cells! It’s classic Our Three Cents.

Number 88 - Worms Armageddon, Life is Strange, Pokémon Rumble World

In a jam-packed episode this week, we have our first repeat entry - the chaps are more riddled with Worms than ever before! In a surprising video game industry twist, Tetris is the suddenly the most revolutionary title on the market again - life really is strange! And whilst Minty plays with his suspiciously-designed pocket monsters, Jonathan explains why Blowfish Studio’s Minesweeper Genius is better than Red Dead Redemption 2! Discuss.

Number 96 - Desert Golfing, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Bioshock Infinite

Now that the thrill of being united simply by the love of gaming has worn out, this episode sees us united by geography for the first time ever! With nothing but a table separating us, we have our first mobile game and noodle around the elitism shrouding the platform like a gamer fuel-induced fart, explore the layers of enjoyment of a inter-presenter gift, and gripe about the oft-referenced ‘golden’ age of When Video Games Were Hard. Includes a special appearance from a bumbling woodland friend in potential peril.