In which we watch wizards get rich and wonder: how? And why? And was it even fun? Plus: Marsh and Tom F slip into the bushes during multiplayer stealth game Of Guards And Thieves while Tom S sets sail upon a Sunless Sea.

And that’s not all! No, sir/madam! We raise a collective eyebrow at the spiralling franchisal universe of Captain Forever, recall the creaky criminality of Payday 2, recount our favourite physics-enabled fluids, repudiate Blacklist’s beefcakes and ruminate on wrecking Parisian architecture.

Show notes:

  • The International: what a lot of nonsense. Watch matches with noob commentary here.
  • Robin Sloan’s essay: The Secret of Minecraft. (Spoiler: it’s secrecy.)
  • Almost brilliant multiplayer stealth game Of Guards And Thieves.
  • Not at all brilliant stealth game Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
  • Hitman Go, or possibly Hit Mango, for iPhone and Android.
  • Farbs’ Captain Forever follow-up, The Dawn Star.
  • Dean Tate’s take on Captain Forever, Remix.
  • Branching, narrative-driven Lovecraftian horror with shonky combat: Sunless Sea
  • Pizza toppings that ended up scrawled over my show notes: black olives, pepperoni, spicy beef and mushrooms.
  • Surprisingly and enduringly popular co-op heist game, Payday 2.
  • Assassin’s Creed: Unity’s HUD isn’t as bad as it seems.

Discuss this episode on our forums.

You can also email us at questions@crateandcrowbar.com (pun intros are entirely optional), and tweet us at @crateandcrowbar. If you’d like to tweet us individually, here’s Marsh, Tom F and Tom S.

Our intro music is by The Mandibles from their track Clambake. Many of the band members now tour as Count Bobo And The Bullion.