Personal histories, one video game at a time.
Call Me By Your Game is a conversational gaming podcast built around meaningful and memorable games. Connor McKay brings guests into warm, detail-heavy conversations about the titles that stuck with them and the life moments attached to those memories.
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Call Me By Your Game is a gaming podcast about memory first and mechanics second. Its basic shape is simple. Connor McKay brings on a guest to talk about a meaningful or memorable video game from a specific moment in that person’s life. That premise gives even familiar titles a personal frame. Time Crisis II, Barbie Riding Club, Super Mario Odyssey, Ghost of Tsushima, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 are treated as more than entries in a release calendar. They become time stamps. The show’s best material comes from the space between game talk and life talk, where a favorite title carries the feel of an era, a friendship, a habit, or a household. It is relaxed and conversational, with a host who leaves room for digressions while keeping the episode pointed at one central game. Special formats broaden that approach. Co-op episodes gather a small panel for fuller discussion of an impactful title, including retro and current games. The Half-Life episode signals a more thorough, group-minded version of the format. The Nintendo 64 Diaries turns the feed toward console memory, with returning guests reflecting on the N64 as it approaches its 30-year milestone. Those entries bring recurring attention to games such as Star Fox 64 and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, along with the replay value, quotes, and long shadow that certain games keep. Around the edges, the show also reflects its small community ecosystem. SuperNPCRadio, Games Club series, Patreon tiers, Discord chatter, and YouTube versions all appear as part of the operating rhythm. Those housekeeping passages are informal, but they also show a feed built around regular listeners and adjacent bonus programming. The register is warm, lightly jokey, and deeply fluent in gaming culture. It is not built around hot takes. It is built around the question of why a game stays lodged in someone’s head years later. For players who think about consoles as chapters of life, Call Me By Your Game has a natural pull.
Made for: For gaming fans who like memory-rich conversation, retro perspective, and personal stories attached to specific titles. It especially fits players who care about how games lived in people’s homes, friendships, routines, and eras.
What sets it apart: Rather than ranking or reviewing games, the show uses each title as a doorway into someone’s life. Its mix of single-guest episodes, co-op panels, and Nintendo 64 Diaries gives nostalgia a flexible, conversational structure.
a nostalgic video game podcast
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Connor and Eddie revisit the Nintendo 64 games whose paths, quotes, and replay value still resonate.
With the Nintendo 64 nearing its 30-year milestone, Connor McCabe asks Eddie what the console still means to him. Eddie recalls his early obsession with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time before settling on Star Fox 64 as his favorite.
A fond, clear-eyed look at Starship Titanic's art deco world and its unruly attempt at conversation.
Starship Titanic comes through as a neat case study in the charm and friction of 1990s game design, with Connor McCabe and Arique Cohen returning to Douglas Adams's art deco adventure.
Evan Cleaver looks back on nerd anxiety, acting work, and an unexpected return to gaming.
Evan Cleaver's shifting relationship with games gives this episode a clean, personal arc: early anxiety about being seen as a nerd, then a later return to World of Warcraft through work.
Connor McKay introduces the podcast and guest Michael Hearn to discuss the video game Stuntman Ignition.
Host Connor McKay interviews Evan Cleaver about his nostalgic connection to NBA Live '96.
Connor McKay introduces the podcast and guest Edgar Momplaisir to discuss the meaningful video game Ghost of Tsushima.
Connor McCabe interviews Fernanda Perez about the meaningful video game Metal Slug X and its impact on her life.
Connor McKay interviews Grant Moore about the meaningful memories associated with The Simpsons Arcade Game.
Host Connor McCabe interviews guest Arik Cohen about the 1998 adventure game Starship Titanic.
Host Connor McKay introduces the podcast and discusses housekeeping before the main interview about a meaningful video game.
Call Me By Your Game: Barbie Riding Club with Celeste Roberts - Ep.280 centers on Celeste Roberts' connection to Barbie Riding Club, a 1998 computer game, while introducing her history with the NES, family computers, and Nintendo games.
Connor McCabe hosts Call Me By Your Game co-op episode 33 with Garrett Morlang, Michael Hearn, and Kristen Thorson to discuss Valve's 1998 first-person shooter Half-Life.
Host Connor McCabe introduces a limited series on the Nintendo 64's 30th anniversary, featuring guests Grant Moore and Jacques Mouledoux sharing their personal relationships with the console.
Jeremy Schmidt tells Connor McKay how his gaming habits changed from buying every console and choosing games by instinct to studying frame rate, resolution, game feel, and development history.
Connor McCabe interviews teacher and coach Eddie Martin about receiving a Nintendo 64 around 1999 with Star Wars Episode I Racer and Mario Party.
Call Me By Your Game: “Fortnite with Nick Costanza - Ep.275” follows Nick Costanza’s gaming history with host Connor McCabe, from Call of Duty Warzone and pandemic-era podcasting to Marvel Rivals and Fortnite.
Writer-performer-director Nadia Osman tells host Connor McKay that growing up with an Egyptian immigrant father and a mother who thought games were "violent and or a waste of time" left her with no console until adulthood.
Connor McKay interviews Dan Lippert about the meaningful video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 from a particular moment in his life.