What damage type would you be invulnerable to in real life? On this episode of That Guy's A Maniac, the boys pull "Invulnerability" from Richie's master list of 27 status elements—but not before standard conversational chaos takes over.

Richie breaks down his highly stressful train ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh where he attempted to read a distinctly non-PG Alasdair Gray book in front of a teenager, leading to a deep dive into the legendary Scottish poet Ivor Cutler, government pigeon conspiracies, and why 80s 12-inch extended mixes are superior (even if you end up singing the hi-hat beat in your sleep).

Plus, we talk about weeping at the end of Hamnet, defending the Super Mario Bros. Movie against grumpy critics, and the pure structural nightmare of a £40 plastic Yoshi popcorn holder. Finally, we talk gaming with our current late-night addictions, the open-world freedom of Mario Kart World, and the surprisingly wild metas forming in Pokémon Champions.

Timestamps are a myth, just dive in!

What happens when you sit down to plan Season 7 and end up in a two-hour spiral about Pokémon, SSX Tricky, and human pheromones? In this bonus brainstorming episode, the boys workshop a potential new season theme around RPG Status Effects—starting with "Charm". From D&D spell saves and Final Fantasy VII party betrayals to designing beer-themed German Pokémon and debating whether human smell is just "air taste," no topic is left unturned. Press play for game mechanics, concert mishaps, and classic podcast banter!

We are back for Season 7! After looking over our listener stats and surviving the break, we're bringing actual structure to the pod this season, starting with our brand-new overarching theme: Status Effects in Video Games.

In this premiere episode, we dissect how status mechanics like poison, silence, haste, and sleep mess with combat action economy in RPGs and survival horror games. But before we get technical, we tackle the big gaming questions of our era:

• Can you complete a Pokémon Nuzlocke in Kanto with literally zero Pokémon?

• What is the official Donkey Kong family tree canon (DK Jr., Cranky Kong, and Pauline in New Donk City)?

• Why did Patrick Stewart's hair keep glitching in Oblivion Remastered?

• Is NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 AI tech revolutionary or just photorealistic slop?

Plus, we rant about Sims 2 pre-DLC expansions, $100 Dead or Alive swimsuit packs, and why game preservation on the upcoming Metal Slug collection is a win for gaming history.