Best Byatt Podcasts (2025)

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Evercade Anniversary and Showcase - with Andrew Byatt and Sean Cleaver 58:01

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6d ago58:01

58:01

It's the five year anniversary of Evercade, the cart-based retro and indie gaming system, and we are celebrating with a special interview with the CEO and head of marketing of Blaze Entertainment - Andrew Byatt and Sean Cleaver respectively. Following the latest Showcase announcement on 29th May 2025, we have a deep-dive interview covering all the …

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Making modern Game Boy Color games, from Block Droppin to OutRun - with Shane McCafferty 1:05:45

26d ago1:05:45

1:05:45

Despite being over 27 years old, developers are still making games for the Game Boy Color - and one such game designer and coder is Shane McCafferty. He has been making games since he was 11, but has taken his side hustle and hobby onto a whole new level, releasing 9 Game Boy Color games on ItchIO in the past 18 months. We find out what it is that …

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Abdulrazak Gurnah: Paradise 49:26

1M ago49:26

49:26

Harriett Gilbert talks with Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah about his hauntingly beautiful novel Paradise. It tells the story of Yusuf, a 12 year-old boy living in East Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century. Sold off to settle his father’s debts, Yusuf embarks on a journey across the African continent. Through his naive and innocent eyes, th…

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Evercade, Home Computers, Consoles And The Future Of Retro, with Retro Asylum's Chris Worthington and Jim Middleton 1:07:35

1M ago1:07:35

1:07:35

Retro Asylum is widely regarded as one of the top gaming podcasts in the world, so we wanted to find out the secret to their success and why they've taken on the challenge of playing through and reviewing every single Evercade cart, on top of the rest of their output. So, Jim Middleton and Chris Worthington were kind enough to share their views and…

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Michelle de Kretser: Scary Monsters 49:20

2M ago49:20

49:20

Harriett Gilbert talks with Michelle de Kretser about her eighth novel, Scary Monsters, which won the 2023 Rathbones Folio Fiction Prize. This diptych novel consists of the tale of two immigrants, one in the past, and one in a dystopian future that seems all too possible. Which story to start with? That’s the reader’s decision. In the past, Lili. H…

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Evercade Showcase Reaction - NEOGEO, Data East, Gremlin Interactive, Windjammers & more with Crazy Burger 1:11:27

2M ago1:11:27

1:11:27

In this episode, we return to the world of Evercade to discuss the Evercade Showcase, which was released on 31st March. In a packed announcement, Evercade released 3 new carts, 2 Super Pockets, a hardware refresh for the EXP-R and VS-R, and teased a few things for the future. To make sense of it all and offer some analysis and predictions, we are j…

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The big Thalamus interview with Andy Roberts - Creatures, Roguecraft, Cecconoid, Zzap64!, Commodore Format & more 1:22:01

2M ago1:22:01

1:22:01

For 8-bit home computing fans, Thalamus is one of the great names of the late 80s and early 90s, publishing classics such as Creatures I & II, Hunters Moon, Hawkeye and Armalyte. When the company went bankrupt in the early 1990s, everyone thought the story was over - but the rights to the games were bought by former Commodore Format games writer An…

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From Sensible Soccer & Cannon Fodder to Sociable Soccer 25: creativity, music and navigating the games industry, with Sensible Software co-founder Jon Hare 1:27:31

3M ago1:27:31

1:27:31

Jon Hare is the co-founder of legendary game studio, Sensible Software, and was behind a host of global best-selling games, such as Sensible World of Soccer, Cannon Fodder, Mega Lo Mania and Sensible Golf. Jon's career as a creative director and game publisher stretches from the 1980s through to today, and is currently launching Sociable Soccer 25.…

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Ottessa Moshfegh: My Year of Rest and Relaxation 58:00

3M ago58:00

58:00

Harriett Gilbert is joined by one of the boldest writers of her generation, Ottessa Moshfegh, to delve into her second novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation. This twisted Sleeping Beauty story is told from the perspective of an unnamed protagonist, a twentysomething art school graduate who, after the death of her parents, quits her gallery job to he…

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The birth of football management computer games, and their glorious return - with Football Manager developer, Kevin Toms 40:28

3M ago40:28

40:28

If you loved football management games, this episode is a must-listen. That's because we got to speak with the man who pretty much invented the genre, Kevin Toms. He's the developer of Football Manager, the 1980s series of games that started the whole thing. Since you can also now play Kevin Toms' Football Manager on your mobile, we thought it woul…

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The past, present and future of Evercade, with Blaze Entertainment CEO, Andrew Byatt 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

In this episode we catch up with Blaze Entertainment CEO, Andrew Byatt to find out more about the origins of Evercade and the key milestones that have led up to its popularity today. Andrew describes Blaze's vision for retro gaming, the reasons behind the Hyper Mega Tech! brand and explains how licensing works in retro gaming. We also hear Andrew's…

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Season 2 opener - Making Flea 2, developing the Lightbook project-mapped popup book, and making games accessible, with Ally Low 45:06

4M ago45:06

45:06

In our second season of Retro Titans, we welcome back Ally Low, game designer and founder of Lowtek Games. Ally discusses the inspiration and challenges around making Flea 2, which returns to Evercade as well as Steam, NES, Dreamcast and Itch-IO. We also cover his new innovation, the Lightbook project-mapped popup book, and his work around making g…

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Meg Rosoff: How I Live Now 49:29

4M ago49:29

49:29

Novelist Meg Rosoff joins Harriett Gilbert to answer listeners' questions about one of her best-loved novels, How I Live Now. It is the story of Daisy, an American teenager shipped off to live with her aunt and cousins in England. What is at first an idyllic escape into English countryside life is shattered at the onset of War, when England is sudd…

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World Book Café: Oslo 49:15

4M ago49:15

49:15

World Book Café heads to Oslo to Europe’s largest Literature House to find out if Norway is the best place in the world to be a writer? Octavia Bright is joined to discuss the highs and lows by the internationally bestselling novelist and climate activist Maja Lunde. Johan Harstad prize winning novelist and the first in-house writer at the National…

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Anne Holt: 1,222 49:08

5M ago49:08

49:08

A special programme from the largest public literature house in Europe, Litteraturhuset in Oslo. Harriett Gilbert is joined by one of Scandinavia’s most successful crime writers, Anne Holt. Her novel 1,222 is a tense, twisty story set during a snowstorm in an isolated mountain hotel, a reference to the fact that the hotel is one thousand, two hundr…

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Retro Titans Season 1 Finale - Evercade Questions and Answers Episode with Crazy Burger 58:38

6M ago58:38

58:38

It's the season finale of Retro Titans and we have drafted in a regular guest, Evercade YouTuber extraordinaire Crazy Burger to help us review Evercade and Blaze Entertainment's 2024. It's a 'questions and answers' show format, where Phil and Crazy Burger quiz each other about their Evercade highlights and things they'd like to see in 2025 - plus a…

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The Making of 'The Spectrum' - re-imaging the cult 80s home computer classic, with Chris Smith 1:16:45

6M ago1:16:45

1:16:45

In this episode we take a departure from our usual format focusing on Evercade to interview Chris Smith, CTO of Retro Games Ltd, about the launch of 'The Spectrum' – a modern day recreation of the iconic ZX Spectrum from 1982. Chris is literally the man who wrote the book on the ZX Spectrum and is full of knowledge about the inner workings of the m…

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Douglas Stuart: Shuggie Bain 49:01

6M ago49:01

49:01

The Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart talks about his Booker Prize winning Shuggie Bain. The powerful, heartbreaking story of a young boy's love for his addict mother, and a mother's chaotic love for her son. Photo credit: Martyn PickersgillBy BBC World Service

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EP5: Why I Decided To Go On A Diet 29:22

6M ago29:22

29:22

In this episode, I reveal why I have been away for so long as I embarked on the journey of the 'calorie defecit,' and pushing myself forward to move on with my training, losing weight, hiring a coach, and learning the true meaning of...FAILURE!By Liam Byatt

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Kate Mosse: Labyrinth 48:59

7M ago48:59

48:59

Ahead of its 20th anniversary early next year, the author Kate Mosse talks to Harriett Gilbert and readers from around the world, about her globally bestselling novel, Labyrinth. It’s a historical thriller set between medieval and contemporary France where the lives of two women, living centuries apart, are linked in a common destiny. In 13th centu…

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Testing Evercade games, Duke Nukem remasters and making a hidden game on Evercade, with Shane Powell 51:04

8M ago51:04

51:04

One of the best thing about Evercade is meeting interesting people who make you think differently about retro gaming and computing generally, not just on the platform - and this week's guest is no different. Shane Powell - aka Kenjara - works in the IT industry and discovered Evercade in the early days and has since become part of the scene, helpin…

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A love for Foxyland and Sensible Soccer, Blaze's next move, and the Nintendo Virtual Boy, with Blunners 55:14

8M ago55:14

55:14

Ollie Houston Blunn - aka Blunners - is one of the team behind the Retro Gaming Revival YouTube channel and a regular presenter on the Total Evercade livestream. He shares his love of Evercade, his strange affection for Foxyland, and what Blaze needs to do next to keep the fanbase happy and ensure it continues to grow. As a grassroots football club…

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Elif Batuman 49:30

8M ago49:30

49:30

In this month’s edition of BBC World Book Club bestselling American writer Elif Batuman discusses her acclaimed debut novel. ‘The Idiot’ follows Selin, a Turkish-American fresher at Harvard in the mid-1990s, delving into her experiences as she navigates the challenges of university life, grappling with identity, language, and the complexities of re…

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Boulder Dash 40th Anniversary - the story behind the game, with Peter Liepa 49:51

9M ago49:51

49:51

Boulder Dash was released in 1984 - yes, that means it's 40 years old - and to celebrate we caught up with the game's designer and developer, Peter Liepa. Boulder Dash was included on the Evercade C64 Collection 3 release this year and, despite its age, still plays like a dream. Peter explains the origins of the game, what it was like making games …

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Making one of Evercade's best-loved games: Goodboy Galaxy, with Rik Nicol 54:13

9M ago54:13

54:13

Goodboy Galaxy is widely regarded as one of the best games on Evercade, so having the chance to speak to one half of the development team, Rik Nicol, was a too good an opportunity to pass up on. In this episode we find out how Goodboy Galaxy was conceived, why it was developed on Game Boy Advance, the biggest challenges in making the game, and what…

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Ewald Arenz: Tasting Sunlight 49:09

9M ago49:09

49:09

German author Ewald Arenz answers readers' questions about his bestselling novel Tasting Sunlight. It’s the moving story of Liss, a reclusive woman who single-handedly runs her family farm, and teenage runaway Sally who takes refuge there. As they work together, Liss and Sally form an unlikely – and nurturing – friendship. Image: Ewald Arenz (Credi…

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Being the UK's youngest competitive gamer and why we need Tekken on Evercade, with Mean Machine Dean 1:04:31

10M ago1:04:31

1:04:31

Remember Sky TV's Games World from the 90s? In this episode, we meet one of the early finalists and the youngest competitive video gamer of the era, Dean Kennedy - aka Mean Machine Dean. A relative newcomer to Evercade, Dean talks through his early experiences on the platform and what attracted him to it in the first place. As well as his love of S…

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Women of the World: Edna O’Brien 26:45

10M ago26:45

26:45

In one of the last broadcast interviews, the acclaimed Irish author Edna O’Brien, who died aged 93 in July 2024, is in conversation with Kim Chakanetsa. In this bonus episode, shediscusses her final novel, Girl – which tells the story of a young girl in Nigeria who is captured by the Islamist group Boko Haram – the effects of lockdown and her love …

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Paul Auster: New York Trilogy 49:04

10M ago49:04

49:04

Another chance to hear Harriett Gilbert talking to bestselling American writer Paul Auster, who died earlier this year on 30 April 2024. Paul Auster joined Harriett in 2012, with a literary festival audience and readers from around the world, to discuss his acclaimed work The New York Trilogy. In three brilliant variations on the classic detective …

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Edna O'Brien: The Country Girls 26:25

10M ago26:25

26:25

Following the death of the Irish author Edna O’Brien in July 2024, another chance to hear a 2008 World Book Club episode in which she talked to Harriett Gilbert and an audience of readers about her renowned debut novel The Country Girls. Banned in her homeland on publication, it has become one of O’Brien’s most admired and renowned works. Producer:…

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Inside Blaze Entertainment HQ and Evercade's 'Hit, Miss and Maybe' for 2024, with Crazy Burger 1:03:31

10M ago1:03:31

1:03:31

Earlier this month, Retro Titans was invited to a special media day for journalists, influencers and creators, to get a rare opportunity to meet the people who run Blaze Entertainment and try out the new devices and games. We were under embargo until the end of the month, so this interview recorded with Crazy Burger reveals the highlights of the da…

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Total Evercade podcast, Xeno Crisis, and Alpha vs Super Pockets, with Olly Barnett 55:35

11M ago55:35

55:35

In case you hadn't noticed, there's another Evercade podcast out there: Total Evercade, which airs every other Monday evening at 8pm UK time. Here we catch up with one of the regular presenters, Oliver Barnett, to explain what it's all about and they have doubled down on the livestream experience for Evercade fans. We also hear about Olly's love of…

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World Book Cafe: Toronto 48:52

11M ago48:52

48:52

Toronto is a bustling city on Lake Ontario which is growing at an astonishing rate. Almost a third of Torontonians have arrived in the last decade and more than half were born outside of Canada. The city’s Mohawk name is , which means “the place on the water where the trees are standing".Noah Richler explores the fictional landscape of the city wit…

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Resurrecting a retro gaming classic: Duke Nukem Remastered on Evercade, with Nikolai Wuttke-Hohendorf, aka Lethal Guitar 42:16

11M ago42:16

42:16

Talk to any Evercade fan and it won't be long before Duke Nukem 1 & 2 Remastered comes up in conversation. And for good reason: it's an example of a classic game, made better for the Evercade platform, without tinkering with it too much. So, this episode goes into the background of how and why the games got (re)made, trying to uncover what makes th…

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Kevin Kwan: Crazy Rich Asians 49:01

11M ago49:01

49:01

Kevin Kwan discusses his internationally best-selling novel, Crazy Rich Asians, with readers from around the world. Chinese-American academic Rachel Chu lives a modest and happy life with her boyfriend and fellow academic Nick. But when Nick invites her home to Singapore to meet the family, everything changes – starting with the first class flights…

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Building an Evercade collection - tips and tricks for acquiring a full set, with Matt Upton 53:18

12M ago53:18

53:18

Whether you’re a veteran Evercade collector or new to the world of collecting retro gaming carts, you’ll enjoy this interview with Matt Upton. We discuss what it means to be an Evercade collector, whether you need to collect the full set, and hacks for acquiring hard-to-get Legacy carts. Matt is a keen collector himself and was game enough to play …

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Evercade Alpha Q&A, listener questions answered, and building the Evercade community - with Blaze Entertainment's Sean Cleaver 1:26:49

12M ago1:26:49

1:26:49

We caught up with Sean Cleaver, Blaze Entertainment's spokesperson and head of marketing, to find out more about Evercade's plans for the future and answer questions about the upcoming Alpha mini arcade and what's been going on in the world of Evercade. We cover the Alpha launch in detail, including how the Evercade mini arcade came about, as quest…

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Miriam Toews: Women Talking 48:40

1y ago48:40

48:40

In Miriam Toews’s novel, Women Talking, the women of a remote Mennonite colony are hold secret meetings to talk about the crimes of the men who they live alongside. After years of being told that they were suffering from hysterical delusions, the women “came to understand that they were collectively dreaming one dream, and that it wasn’t a dream at…

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Evercade Alpha mini arcade launch reaction (part 2), with Crazy Burger, Vaughan Anscombe and Nik Tyrrell 30:53

1y ago30:53

30:53

In the second of our ALPHA reaction episodes, we catch up with previous Retro Titans guests Crazy Burger, Vaughan Anscombe and Nik Tyrrell to find out what they think about Blaze's first mini arcade cabinet launch. As well as finding out whether Evercade have got a hit on their hands and if they will be buying one, we also discuss the future of Bla…

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Evercade Alpha mini arcade launch reaction (part 1), with Andi Hamilton 14:57

1y ago14:57

14:57

In this first of two reaction minisodes to the launch of Evercade ALPHA, the new mini arcade bar top machine from Blaze Entertainment, we catch up with journalist and gaming streamer Andi Hamilton. Here we get Andi's initial take and his thoughts on where this fits into the Evercade ecosystem, following the big reveal on Thursday 30th May. 🔗 Links:…

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Retro Gaming History, Evercade Reaction and Gaming Music, with author Mike Diver 1:00:21

1y ago1:00:21

1:00:21

If you're serious about retro gaming and can recall all your devices from days gone by, you'll love this episode with retro gaming journalist and author, Mike Diver. Publisher of three books on retro gaming, with another in the works, Mike has an encyclopedic knowledge of arcades, consoles and computer games. Here we delve into his latest book and …

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Retro Gaming Heaven, Bricked Carts and the Music of Richard Joseph, with Andy Caomhanach 1:23:55

1y ago1:23:55

1:23:55

In a packed episode, we talk to IT lecturer and media commentator Andy Caomhanach about his love of retro gaming, which goes back to his Commodore 64 days and the Light Fantastic Pack. He describes how is love of computing and gaming led to the discovery of the Evercade platform and what makes it so special. We also tackle the thorny issue of cart …

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Witch n' Wiz - the story behind the super-addictive puzzle game on Evercade, with Matt Hughson 53:22

1y ago53:22

53:22

Witch n' Wiz is one of my all-time favourite games on Evercade, so I've been chomping at the bit to speak to the game's developer Matt Hughson. It was everything I hoped and more. We discussed how he came up with the idea for Witch n' Wiz and developed it into the game we all love. He explained his process for devising the levels and gets the diffi…

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Percival Everett: The Trees 49:08

1y ago49:08

49:08

Percival Everett will be discussing his Booker-shortlisted novel The Trees. This powerful and fiercely funny satire centring on revenge and racial justice in America shifts genres between police procedural, magical realism and horror with wit and consummate skill. Percival Everett addresses some of America’s darkest history with an unusual mix of p…

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The joy of collecting Evercade, crazy cart prices and going legacy, with Connor from Seafoam Gaming 45:10

1y ago45:10

45:10

The Evercade Facebook groups have been lit up in the past few weeks discussing collecting and selling carts. As a non-collector myself, I am intrigued by the desire to own the whole collection and equally curious about the prices some of these carts can command. So, to understand more about the art of collecting on Evercade, I spoke to reviewer, co…

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Behind the scenes of a successful indie game studio, with Mega Cat Studio's James Deighan & Andrew Marsh 56:57

1y ago56:57

56:57

The Mega Cat Studios Collections (I & II) are firm fan favourites amongst the Evercade community, so having the opportunity to talk to the company’s founder James Deighan and cinematic director Andrew Marsh was a real treat. This episode covers a lot of ground, from the origin story of Mega Cat Studios and how they started working with Blaze Entert…

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Evercade hardware updates, Tomb Raider, Street Fighter and Duke Nukem, with Andi Hamilton 1:12:39

1y ago1:12:39

1:12:39

Fresh from a mid-season break, we talk to gaming journalist and YouTuber Andi Hamilton and get his take on the latest Evarcade news, the growth of retro gaming and his love for Duke Nukem, Street Fighter and Sensible Soccer. As usual we have the Desert Island Carts feature, where Andi tells us his choice of device, carts and music to take away on a…

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EP4: Relationships and Social Media - What Is The True Cost? 37:04

1y ago37:04

37:04

In 2024, the world of lies, deceit, and deception, showcased in social media, but how can this affect relationships with yourself and others? Join me as I discuss my latest NPC life updates, as well as a controversial discussion about what you show about yourself on social media can drastically affect people's perceptions about you... Listen to Bri…

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Charlotte Wood: The Weekend 49:18

1y ago49:18

49:18

Award-winning Australian novelist Charlotte Wood joins Harriett Gilbert to answer questions from readers around the world about her novel, The Weekend. It's a story of grief and friendship; three women meet to clear their deceased friend’s beach house and find themselves uncovering secrets and stirring up memories. (Image: Charlotte Wood. Photo cre…

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Nik Tyrrell on the golden era of gaming, collecting cartridges and Evercade Family Fortunes 47:11

1y ago47:11

47:11

We catch up with Nik Tyrrell, a retro gaming YouTuber, Evercade collector and fan of the 8-bit era. As well as providing his thoughts on all things Evercade, Nik gives us his perspectives on the golden era of gaming, what the appeal of collecting cartridges is and his hidden gems in the Evercade library, amongst other things. We also play an Everca…