Popular Reviews of Heart Beats

Relaxing, Charming, and All Around WonderfulIf you're looking for a slice of life fantasy podcast to sit back and relax with, then look no further! Heart Beats was a podcast I was very excited about for some time and when it finally arrived it did not disappoint! The GM Xander brings you in with a delightful low tension story about ordinary people living in an extraordinary world, and boy do they deliver. The storytelling done by Xander feels very organic and allows the cast to bring to life their characters in this charming setting. Each character they are introduced to feels like they have so much more story to tell, it feels akin to first playing Majora's Mask when you are in Clocktown. Everyone has a story to tell and are just living their lives and trying to get by. The cast, Rob and Jazz, bring delightful and very fleshed out characters to the table. Jacque has a timid behavior that is followed by the bizarre as everyone around him seems to gravitate towards him and raise him up, when he doesn't feel that he rightly deserves so. Rob really brings it home making this character feel very believable and has Jacque bounce off of Charlene as though they were already great friends. Jazz does a fantastic job bringing the drive of a reporter that just had enough of the big city and wanted to strike out on her own. Charlene is a wonderful and also very relatable character who wants to get to the bottom of the story but finds she gets wrapped up in it just as much! If you're looking for a break from the high adventure, spooky creatures that go bump in the night, or just terrible world events happening on your doorstep, then come on down to Heart Beats for a cup of tea, or whatever else suits your needs and relax!

Heart Beats truly is a heartwarming fantasy. The beginning starts off slow, in a relaxing, peaceful, wholesome way. As the episodes progress, more and more emotions start to build, the humour gets more intense, to the point where I can't help laughing out loud to myself in public.There are some scary bits that made me gasp in suspension, and countless beautiful scenes (visually and emotionally) that made me not only want to be a local of Heart Beats myself, but also made me wish that I could draw, as this podcast is truthfully the first one that has ever imbued me with a *need* to do some kind of fan art. Every member of the cast and every character, pc (including the doggos!) as well as npc, has a special place in my heart, that they fill with cosy warmth, love, hugs, adorable weirdness, fluffiness, and awe whenever i listen to them.As others have stated, Heart Beats is not the average actual play podcast. We don't even get introduced to the system they use (Ryuutama) until the middle of the second episode. Dice rolls serve the story, as it should be, adding the exciting element of chance. That's it. There is no pressure to roll a certain number of times, Xander even gives his players the space to have real-time in-character conversations for half an hour without interrupting. These conversations, the descriptions of the locations, the uniqueness of all the characters, their stories and their (sometimes awkward) relationships with each other, all this alone is enchanting enough to listen to. Jazz, Rob, Xander, thank you all so very much for having created this amazingly beautiful, funny, wholesome, heartwarming fantasy <3

This podcast is wonderful, and it makes my day everytime I listen <3If you like fantasy and hopepunk, then you'll love this!

Heart Beats truly is a heartwarming actual play. Though it uses the Ryuutama game system, the story told is more akin to something like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing. It features small, local stories where the characters are asked to be real, genuine, and kind. The cast and GM are highly skilled, telling fun and interesting stories in the context of this delightful narrative. For a warm, kind actual play, Heart Beats is highly recommended.

Heart Beats is a lovely slice of life AP podcast that is both engaging and relaxing to listen to. With shorter episodes it's pretty easy to fit into your schedule and easy to catch up on! It's especially nice to listen to after an especially tense day or another tense podcast. If you need something lighter this is definitely the podcast for you.

Absolutely love it! The voice actors are really dedicated to their roles and the improv is incredible!

I don't like actual play and had a hard time with the lack of disclosure about being actual play.