I've just written my first long-form article in a very long time, and it's all about the 22 game demos I played from the Steam Next Fest! It would really mean a lot if you could give it a read and let me know what you think 💜

The dorks are live, recording a new TMP! We're talking about the rise and fall of Blizzard Entertainment, and reminiscing on all the great (and not so great) games they've given us (and run into the ground) over the years! Come join us! twitch.tv/themanapool

After really enjoying the demo for The Ratline I decided to give another investigation/deduction game a shot and fired up Return of the Obra Dinn. I then proceeded to accidentally spend 4 hours in it today 😳 I think I might like this sort of thing. What else you got like it?

I was going to play some more game demos anyway, so I figured I might as well go live while I do it! Come join me for a couple more of these Next Fest demos, starting with Archon Soul! I think it's like Slay the Spire with dice, but it's been like a week since I installed it so I could be wrong 😅

I am LIVE with the Steam Next Fest Demo Marathon! The number of games is up to 21 now, and I'm starting with the randomly chosen Scott Pilgrim EX, a new beat'em up starring everyone's favorite jerkface! Come join me as I work for the next 12 hours on playing all these demos!

Tomorrow (Sunday) I'll be doing a marathon stream of game demos from the Steam Next Fest! I have TWENTY games across a variety of genres and flavors and tones installed! I'm starting at noon (Eastern time) and going until I either play all the games or I hit midnight, so come join me on Twitch!

I'm live, playing the demo for Prime Monster! It's a weirdly topical deckbuilder about being a corrupt politician in a world of monsters, and it looks like a lot of fun! Plus it's by the folks that did The Sexy Brutale, so it should be pretty good. Come join me! twitch.tv/themanapool

I'm live, playing the demo for Vampire Crawlers! This is the deckbuilder followup to Vampire Survivors, and it looks extremely awesome! Come join me to check out the new hotness! twitch.tv/themanapool

Greetings my Pooligans! I’m looking for some ideas for the thematic hook for this year’s charity stream! In the past I’ve done roguelikes, multiplayer, and choosing from a giant list of preselected achievements from dozens of games to go after. That’s the TL;DR. For more info let’s do a thread!

Greetings my Pooligans! I’m looking for some ideas for the thematic hook for this year’s charity stream! In the past I’ve done roguelikes, multiplayer, and choosing from a giant list of preselected achievements from dozens of games to go after. That’s the TL;DR. For more info let’s do a thread!

Welp, since @discord.com would rather train their AI or get data to sell or whatever it is they're actually doing (think of the children is BS and we all know it) I'm looking for a new place to host The Mana Pool's community server. Who has input on an alternative?

The dorks are live! We're talking about media crossovers of all flavors and putting them on a...political spectrum? I dunno, it's a two-axis tier list thing. Come join us and suggest some of your own! twitch.tv/themanapool

It's time to stream more Shinobi: Art of Vengeance because it is SUCH an excellent game (possibly like it more than the new Ninja Gaiden? 👀) and you should definitely come check it out with me! We'll talk about ninjas and stuff! twitch.tv/themanpool

Holy crap, I'm live with Squee and Cluze! We're doing Absolutely Not MNM tonight, and you should come hang out with us! Cluze is even on here at @cluze.bsky.social! Wow!

Ice storm stream on Twitch while I still have power! I'm gonna be attempting to beat the Great Chaos Below trial on Hades 2! It's the "everything randomized with 20 fear" run, and if I can beat it then the last 3 achievements should all pop at once! Come join me while the power's still on!

Kudos to the NYT editor who took “Appears to” out of the lead headline (finally)

The dorks are live on Twitch with more Lorwyn cards! Come join us as we poke around memory lane and check out what they've done to some of our old friends!

I'm live with the second 2D Ninja Legacy Sequel of summer 2025, and this time it's Shinobi: Art of Vengeance! Come join me! Also, it's not a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

The dorks are LIVE! We're taking our first look at Lorwyn Eclipsed now that the set is already fully revealed (preview season for this one lasted what, 45 minutes?) so come join us on Twitch as we die of nostalgia for the setting that was The Mana Pool's first!

I'm live on Twitch playing Backpack Hero, an adorable roguelike about dungeon crawling with a magical backpack! Come join me as I fight other woodland critters and organize my loot (I assure you that is WAY more interesting than it sounds) GIF related

I am live! Tonight’s stream will be finishing up the excellent Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, so come join me for this excellent legacy sequel ninja game on Twitch!

Slightly diminish a band Corn

We are live! Come join us for this alienating discussion! Link in the reply, but it's Twitch

Tonight the dorks are taking a look at aliens for the podcast! The different types of potential alien encounters, how they’re represented in media, and the science behind the possibility of aliens actually existing. It should be a fun time, so join us tonight around 8pm Eastern on Twitch! 👽🛸👾

Live with more Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound! I might be able to finish it up tonight so I can start the other 2D Ninja Platformer Legacy Sequel soon, so come check it out! I'm really enjoying this one, it's really pushing those nostalgic ninja buttons for me 🥰

Ninja Chewie is LIVE right now on Twitch, playing the first of two 2D Ninja Platformer Legacy Sequels: Ninja Gaiden Ragebound! Come join for this, as he's playing & capturing footage for an upcoming video! Also, it's the first stream of 2026, so come hang out with Ninja Chewie - IF YOU CAN FIND HIM!

Only a few achievements left before I have them all in Hades 2! Come hang out and chat about stuff with me while I try to get those last couple before the year ends! twitch.tv/themanapool

Stuck in that weird limbo between holidays? Come hang out with me! I'm playing Hades 2, tracking down the last of the achievements and happy to chat about whatever while I do so! I'm live now! twitch.tv/themanapool GIF unrelated - wrong kind of limbo

Make a Bond movie casual: Leafraker

There are more achievements to get, so the streaming of Hades 2 must continue! Come join me, we'll chat about stuff while I chip away at these cheevos! I'm live now! twitch.tv/themanapool

The final episode of 2025 is up! We inadvertently spent the whole show on nostalgic nonsense, like GI Joe movies, Ghostbusters vs Ghost Busters, randomizing old video games, mashups, game franchise collections, and moon logic! Yay! The link’s in the reply in case this place works like the bad one

Going live with more Hades 2, chasing that "platinum" or whatever you call it on Steam. Come hang out and we'll chat about stuff while I chip away at these missing cheevos! twitch.tv/themanapool

The dorks (most of us anyway) are live with the last episode of 2025! Come join us as we talk about...whatever comes to mind really. It's a Dorks Just Chatting, so come Just Chat with us! twitch.tv/themanapool

The dorks are live! We're finally getting to the resource management in D&D combat episode, so please come join us! We've been trying to make this episode for SO LONG and we've finally managed to make it work! twitch.tv/themanapool

I'm live on Twitch playing Tales & Tactics, the singleplayer autobattler with Slay the Spire vibes! Come join me, I'm doing some challenge climbing (think StS Ascensions) so this is where the actual challenge kicks in! twitch.tv/themanapool

The dorks are LIVE! We're talking about all the different forms of vehicular transportation in video games, so come join us on Twitch and drop your favorites! Yes I know it's only Wednesday, shut up!

Right, I'm live with MNM: Eminem Edition! Come join me as I take on the many faces of Marshall Mathers!

Tonight I’m bringing back Monday Night Murder for a special occasion! Hitman released the Eminem vs Slim Shady celebrity mission today! So join me tonight on Twitch for that and whatever other Hitman stuff I find to do! 😁

More Hades 2 streaming! I'm either gonna do the final Vow of Rivals to see how the final bosses work, or I'm gonna work on the harder Chaos Trials. Haven't decided which yet, so come join me and push me in either direction!

Today is my 45th birthday! To celebrate I'm...streaming more Hades II! Come join me, I'm gonna chase an achievement or two tonight while we chat about whatever comes up! twitch.tv/themanapool

The dorks are live! We're taking our first (and possibly only) look at the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set! Come join us! twitch.tv/themanapool

I'm live again with this ridiculous randomizer! Join me as I explore a new area of both games! twitch.tv/themanapool

I am LIVE! Come join me for this utter lunacy of a hybrid randomizer run!

Dear every game dev who stashes little goodies on top of buildings or crates to reward idiots who must explore every nook and cranny: I appreciate you.

At 8pm tonight I'm going to start the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Super Metroid Randomizer! It randomizes stuff for both games across both games & gives you doors that traverse between them. Sounds like it'll be somewhere between amazing and frustrating that is just right for streaming 😅

Have never been more aware of how brittle and paper-thin fascist belief systems are than I have the past year. These guys tremble at a couple drops of rain.

Thinking of doing some kind of retro game randomizer (other than FF4 FE, sorry). Maybe a Zelda? I dunno, anyone have any recommendations?

The dorks are live! Well, 3/4 of us anyway. We're doing a Dorks Just Chatting, so come hang out with us and chat about stuff in Mike's absence. Maybe talk a little smack about him. You know, whatever you like. twitch.tv/themanapool

I'm live with more Hades 2! This time I'm gonna try out the 3rd level of the Vow of Rivals for the first time, so come hang out while I get my ass kicked! Yay! twitch.tv/themanapool

For today's daytime stream I'm gonna try something new! This is Tales & Tactics, an autobattler by the group behind Slay the Spire: Downfall, the critically acclaimed StS mod! Come join me and check it out! twitch.tv/themanapool gif semi-related