Episode 187
Fear & Hunger (with Adam Bucceri)
October 15th, 2025
2 hrs 53 mins 57 secs
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About this Episode
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Sometimes a game's reputation precedes it in a way that makes you question whether you want to play it at all, and Fear & Hunger (Miro Haverinen, 2018) certainly fits that bill. Punishing difficulty, harsh teaching, extreme content warnings and more put me off from playing the game for a while, but I'm glad to have played it now, and all of that made for a great conversation.
Content warnings for Fear & Hunger: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/17804
Guest info: Adam Bucceri (he/him)
- Check out Adam's games https://boocherry.itch.io/
TIMESTAMPS
- 0:00 Title Card
- 0:15 Intros
- 6:03 Our Histories with Fear & Hunger
- 9:55 Should We Play Fear & Hunger 1 or 2?
- 11:27 Opening Thoughts About Fear & Hunger
- 17:24 Content Warnings
- 26:15 Game Setup and Character Selection
- 31:15 Difficulty and Learning How to Play
- 44:55 Player-Hostile Design and Pressures
- 58:34 Immersive Sim Elements, Experimentation and Emergent Narrative
- 1:07:47 Combat
- 1:21:36 Visuals and Sound Design
- 1:27:20 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
- 1:34:20 Adam's Games and Creative Works
- 1:37:18 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-Yous
- 1:39:18 Spoiler Section- The Girl, Le'garde and Fun Discoveries
- 2:26:35 Spoiler Section- Endings
Music used in the episode is credited to Miro Haverinen. Tracks used: Fear & Hunger, The Four Apostles, Pulse & Anxiety, Ancient City, Tomb of the Gods, Everyday Schoolday
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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures
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