Hi everyone. I am writing a guest column for Fresh Look this week as it gives me a chance to talk about a really great crew of podcasters that I met at Blerdcon this year.
Game Clique, the self-proclaimed “Blackest Video Game Podcast in the Industry,” gives listeners and viewers more than a critique of video games; it gives them a conversation. The creator, who goes by CharmCityChamp, teams up with a rotating group of commenters, one of whom is Sergio Brack, Director of Esports for the University of Maryland. On the podcast, Brack goes by Physix. He guided his esports program to national titles and three Kansas City Athletics Conference championships.
I actually got to see a really great live show broadcast of their podcast at Blerdcon where they debated and worked with the audience to make a “Game Clique’s Top 10 Black Video Game Characters (Most Iconic)” list. I loved the appellation of Most Iconic because the very nature of what is the top or best was also discussed among the hosts and the audience. It made for a fun and nuanced talk and a great show topic.
You can watch the show now too and see how enjoyable it was at the convention.
In the end, for me, Game Clique shows are conversations that you get to see and learn from. And you get to hear from people who are passionate about video games. Each listen to this podcast can be a revelation about something you hadn’t thought of about video games. This includes everything from when a video game was made, how it was upgraded, the number of units sold and the different ratings that are all brought up alongside personal reactions by these experienced hosts.
During the Blerdcon event, lots of names not even on the top ten list were bandied about, and the response of the crowd was never dull. There were lots of smart and funny takes on video games that were certainly generated by the topic.
As I started to dive into their other episodes, I found another interesting one about Steam Next Fest that looked at the top 15 must play demos.
That show looked at games that aren’t super expensive and also ones that don’t have a lot of advertising. The banter flowed well during that episode and included what the hosts wanted to see from their video games. The reporting was interwoven with some very well thought out criticisms.
One of the latest Game Clique shows focuses on their 10 best video games in the 2026 power rankings. The episode begins with a current list, but the real fun comes from hearing the hosts debate the rankings in real time. As they defend their favorites and reconsider each pick, the list starts to shift and includes titles such as Resident Evil, Invincible VS and 007 First Light, which earned a perfect 5 GiN Gem score in our own review. Even Forza Horizon 6 eventually became part of the conversation.
The four-person group on this stream really hash out why certain titles can be so entertaining and what makes a driving game like Forza Horizon 6 good. The list in the end is nice to see, but the journey to get there is what makes this a very good show about the video game industry. Too often the critiques of video games are either one lone voice talking to the listener or a company giving its homogenized view of the latest game. Either of those are usually hunting for clicks. This podcast hits differently. It gives the feeling of friends or like-minded fans at a convention having an interesting conversation about a nerdy topic they love.
So, if you want to learn about titles you like or are wondering if they’ve been played and appraised by some smart and entertaining voices, check out the Game Clique podcast. It is offered on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Game Clique is worth checking out because it captures one of the best parts of gaming culture: smart people gathered together, laughing, debating and sharing why these titles matter to them.
