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Critical Diversions
Matt Murray
110 episodes
1 week ago
A games club podcast with a rotating cast that gets together semi-regularly to hang out and talk about games
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Games
Leisure
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All content for Critical Diversions is the property of Matt Murray and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A games club podcast with a rotating cast that gets together semi-regularly to hang out and talk about games
Show more...
Games
Leisure
Episodes (20/110)
Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 12/20/2025: Scraping Joy

On this near-Christmas episode of the show, Matt's winding down the year by talking about Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Skate Story, Pokémon Lazarus, and the current dumpster fire that is Larian Studios and their use of generative AI, among other things!


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/

Our interstitial music this episode was Yeti Caves composed by Eirik Suhrke, from Spelunky HD.

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2 weeks ago
1 hour 37 minutes 35 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 12/13/2025: The Post-TGAs 2025 Episode

Matt's played a lot of different games in the past week, and you're the audience he's got to talk about them to. We've also got all of The Game Awards announcements to go over, and I do mean ALL of them, for some reason.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/


Our interstitial music this week was Golfaria - Overworld by Eirik Suhrke from UFO 50.

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3 weeks ago
1 hour 44 minutes 21 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 12/05/2025: The Myles McKenzie Factor

Metroid Prime 4 is out, and Matt's gonna talk about it for a while. We've also gotta talk some Kirby Air Riders, Infinity Nikki 2.0, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, plus others, believe it or not!


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/

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1 month ago
1 hour 21 minutes 55 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 11/22/2025: Kirby Air Riders Was Robbed By The Game Awards

Kirby Air Riders is officially out in the world, and Matt's here to ramble about how good it is for an uncomfortable amount of time. He's also got a lot to say about Final Fantasy Tactics, Birdcage, and The Game Awards nominations, so get in here.


Matt's review of Birdcage


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/


Our interstitial music this week was CEYX - Stage 5 composed by Barry "Epoch" Topping for Birdcage. The whole OST is available to purchase on Bandcamp now!

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1 month ago
1 hour 45 minutes 8 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 11/15/2025: Bury My Heart in Videoverse

Matt's back after a missed week, and there's plenty to talk about, such as the Kirby Air Riders demo, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and Videoverse. We'll also be tiptoeing a bit into GTA6's latest delay and the reasons for it, as well as talking about Pokopia and the Super Mario Galaxy movie.


Matt's review of Videoverse


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/


Our interstitial music this week was Party House - Medium Party by Erik Suhrke from UFO 50.

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1 month ago
1 hour 32 minutes 53 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 10/30/2025: Another Halo 1 Remake

On top of talking about games he's been playing this week, such as Vampire Survivors and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, Matt also got to experience breaking news in the middle of recording this podcast in the form of a Switch 2 edition of Animal Crossing, plus 3.0 update. It's a weirdly packed, meandering, and non-sleepy episode of the show, so get in there while the getting's good.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/


Our interstitial music this week was Magic Garden - Gameplay by Eirik Suhrke from UFO 50.

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2 months ago
1 hour 50 minutes 12 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 10/24/2025: GUMMIES | Collection

Matt's finished Absolum and started playing Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar this week. But none of that matters, because we have the second Kirby Air Riders direct to talk about.


Matt's review of Absolum


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/

Our interstitial music this week was Mini & Max - Clock composed by Eirik Suhrke for UFO 50.

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2 months ago
1 hour 27 minutes 19 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 10/16/2025: Where'd I Get All These Roguelites I'm Playing

This week, Matt's still playing Hades 2. But also Ball x Pit and Absolum. It's the week of (very high quality) roguelites, baby. In the news, we've got release dates, surprise ports, delays, and data theft leaks, oh my.

Matt's review of Ball x Pit


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/


Our interstitial music this week was Warptank - Red from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke.

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2 months ago
1 hour 23 minutes 47 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 10/09/2025: We Did It. We Beat Hiatus Culture

Your Weekly Diversion is back, and it's dragging Matt with it. We've got a lot to talk about this time, including final thoughts on Hollow Knight Silksong, ongoing Hades 2 talk, and just how good Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is. And that's without even getting into the news, like Mario & Wario hitting Switch NSO, Mega Man and Proto Man coming to that Sonic racing game, and Yakuza Kiwami 3 being announced. Come join us for all of that and more this very special return episode.


Matt's written review of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at https://www.fortfamly.com/


Our interstitial music this week was Campanella - Stage 4 by Eirik Suhrke from UFO 50.

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2 months ago
1 hour 58 minutes 39 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 09/13/2025: The Hollow Knight Silksong and Nintendo Direct Rundown Spectacular

Matt's back for one last weekly diversion before a couple week break. And as the title would imply, he has only played Silksong this week, and yet still managed to put out a nearly two hour episode.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly


Our interstitial music this week was Ninpek - Gameplay from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke

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3 months ago
1 hour 51 minutes 55 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 09/06/2025: Grooming the Chicken Gramophone

On this very sleepy edition of the Weekly Diversion, Matt's here to talk about Silksong, ranking some UFO 50 games, muse about why the cat is misbehaving so badly during a podcast recording, and talking about the latest Infinity Nikki update, including the Stardew Valley music hidden within.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on Mars

Our interstitial music this week was Rakshasa - Stage 1B from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke

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4 months ago
1 hour 18 minutes 13 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 08/29/2025: Plus Star Crossed Worlds

We're back to a more reasonable runtime this week. Matt's talking about finishing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the new Kirby DLC (I'm not typing that whole thing out), and Chibi Robo. When it comes to news, it's a completely random hodgepodge of Mega Hawluchas and Memories of Oaths of Memoirs of Celetas. Join us!


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on MarsOur interstitial music this episode was Moonlight Canyon Labyrinth from Kirby and the Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition + Star Crossed Worlds.

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4 months ago
1 hour 10 minutes 23 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 08/23/2025: You Gotta Come On Up To the Party House

The carbonated water saga of the Weekly Diversion has ended....for now. It's time to get back to what really matters in life: talking about UFO 50 and going over Gamescom news, such as Indiana Jones coming to Switch 2, a 45 minute Kirby Air Riders direct, and hands down the biggest news of the week: Infinity Nikki crossing over with Stardew Valley. And Hollow Knight Silksong got a release date too I guess.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on Mars


Our interstitial music this week was Party House - Medium Party from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke

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4 months ago
1 hour 54 minutes 41 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 08/16/2025: The 100th Episode Carbonated Water Spectacular

That's right, 100 episodes deep and we're just as tired and rambly as ever. On this special episode of the show, Matt's talking at length about carbonated water again, as well as his top 10 favorite games so far this year and what his most anticipated games are for the remainder.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on MarsOur first interstitial music this episode was Mooncat - Forest A from UFO 50 composed by Eirik Suhrke

Our second interstitial music was Camouflage - Gameplay from UFO 50 composed by Eirik Suhrke


Book Badlands Chugs on Cameo

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4 months ago
1 hour 49 minutes 44 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 08/09/2025: Somehow UFO 50 Returned

This week on the show: UFO 50 is back with a vengeance. Matt's also finished Ninja Gaiden Ragebound and watched his wife play a lot more of Tales of the Shire. For news, we've got another Nintendo presentation to cover, as well as some stuff out of EVO.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on MarsOur interstitial music this week was Pilot Quest - Crash Site by Eirik Suhrke from UFO 50.

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4 months ago
1 hour 37 minutes 41 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 08/01/2025: If I Give You the Chunk You're Gonna Take It

On the schedule this week: we have a Nintendo Direct to go over! Ninja Gaiden Ragebound and Tales of the Shire came out this week! Infinity Nikki had its biggest (and coolest) update yet! Mario Paint returns! Matt complains a lot about carbonated water! And much, much more.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on MarsOur interstitial music this week was Kick Club - Gameplay composed by Eirik Suhrke for UFO 50

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5 months ago
1 hour 50 minutes 45 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 07/25/2025: Unlaunched

On this week's episode of the show, we've got even more interruptions and diversions than usual. In between all that, Matt's talking about finishing Donkey Kong Bananza, as well as a potential incoming Nintendo Direct, the "unlaunch" of Splitgate 2, and remembering Plants vs Zombies for what it was, not what it has become.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on Mars


Our interstitial music this episode was Magic Garden - Gameplay by Eirik Suhrke from UFO 50.

Show more...
5 months ago
1 hour 19 minutes 55 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 07/19/2025: And Now His Donk Watch Is Ended

Donkey Kong Bananza is finally here. So naturally we're talking about a bunch of other stuff, like a potential Dragon Quest VII remake and the casting of Link and Zelda in the live action Legend of Zelda movie. Matt's also letting you know about how surprisingly good Misc.: A Tiny Tale was. And yeah, somewhere in there, we'll rave about Donkey Kong.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on MarsOur interstitial music this week was Elfazar's Hat - Frostin Town from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke.

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5 months ago
1 hour 24 minutes 28 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 07/12/2025: Perilously Persnickety Parries

On the thrilling conclusion to Donk Watch 2k25, Matt's here to talk about a wide-ranging slew of games, including Bowser's Fury, Soul Calibur 2, and the demo for Wild Hearts S. Join him for all of this and so, so much more, including self checkout woes and hiding in toilet stalls at work.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on MarsOur interstitial music this episode was Rock On! Island - Village from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke.

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5 months ago
1 hour 32 minutes 36 seconds

Critical Diversions
Weekly Diversion 07/04/2025: The Great Donk Watch 2k25

On this tumultuous episode of the show, Matt's talking about his replay of Super Mario Odyssey, Bushido Ball and its Windjammers inspirations, and finding out how many espresso's worth of caffeine is in his drink live on air. In the news, we're waxing nostalgic about various entries of Mario Golf, talking about the new Chained Echoes DLC release date, and talking about THAT news out of Xbox.


Check out Bit Harmony: A Video Game Music Podcast!

Bit Harmony on Apple

Bit Harmony on Spotify

Become a Patron of All N!

Matt Murray on Blue Sky - @mattmurray.bsky.social

Podcast art by Natascha Murray

Natascha Murray on Blue Sky - @couchmochi.bsky.social

The various Critical Diversions theme songs were made by Mic Fox. Check out all of his cool stuff over at Fort Famly & The Greenhouse on Mars

Our interstitial music this episode is "Porgy - Shallows" from UFO 50, composed by Eirik Suhrke

Show more...
6 months ago
1 hour 35 minutes 51 seconds

Critical Diversions
A games club podcast with a rotating cast that gets together semi-regularly to hang out and talk about games