Vidjagame Apocalypse

Let's start off 2024 right: With a look at five games we're especially looking forward to in the next 12 months! Then we'll get into the Polymega retro console (and MIkel's nearly four-year wait to get one), the 14,000 games Steam added in 2023, the first human being to "beat" NES Tetris, and your personal Games of the Year for 2023.

Question of the Week: Which game are you most looking forward to in 2024?

Break song is New Year's Resolution Song by Rhett & Link. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

If you've been following along the last few weeks you should know our top 10 games of 2023. What you probably don't know (unless you're a Patreon subscriber) is how we arrived at the final order for our list.

Every year we record a Patreon-exclusive episode where Mikel, Matt, and Chris duke it out to decide on the order of our top 10. Patrons have had access to this episode for an entire week, but since it's the holidays and we're feeling generous, we wanted to give all of you a little taste of this exclusive episode that we like to call... THE ORDERING!

To access the full episode you'll have to go to Patreon.com/lasertime and subscribe.

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in 2024!

The wait is over! We continue with the second half of the GOTY countdown we started last week, and reveal our Top 5 Games of 2023! We've once again invited a rotating panel of guests to help out, including Jesse Cox, TL Foster, Tony Wilson, Brendan Hesse, Ryan Harig, Steve Guntli, and Jorge Albor. Did your favorite game make the cut? Listen and find out!

Question of the Week (Month?): What's your personal Game of the Year for 2023?

There's a lot of chat this week, so here's a quick timestamp cheat sheet if you'd like to skip ahead to unveil each entry:

8:48: #5 with Jorge Albor

29:33: #4 with Brendan Hesse and Steve Guntli

48:08: #3 with Steve Guntli and Anthony Abatte

1:09:29: #2 with Ryan Harig and Brendan Hesse

1:33:52: #1 with Jesse Cox, TL Foster, and Tony Wilson

A fantastic year for games is nearing its end, which means it's time for us to look back at the past 12 months and anoint our top 10 games of the year in a discussion so big, we had to split it into two shows. This week, we're joined by a rotating panel of guests including Tony Wilson, Brendan Hesse, Chris Baker, Steve Guntli, Woody Ciskowski, Jorga Albor, and Johnny Brandon. Check out our picks for 10 through 6 this week, and stay tuned for next week, when we'll kick it off with #5 and count down to our Game of the Year.

There's a lot of chat this week, so here's a quick timestamp cheat sheet if you'd like to skip ahead to unveil each entry:

5:27: #5 with Tony Wilson and Brendan Hesse

26:28: #4 with Chris Baker and Steve Guntli

50:02: #3 with Brendan Hesse and Tony Wilson

1:12:44: #2 with Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski

1:32:54: #1 with Johnny Brandon and Jorge Albor

The game industry thrives on remaking and reviving classic hits from the past, and as another year winds down, Tony Wilson of Framework joins us to talk about five of our favorite attempts to resurrect and repackage old games this year. Then we'll get into the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and your favorite DLC of 2023.

Question of the Week: What's your personal Game of the Year for 2023?

Break song is The Bullet or the Blade by Sam Drysdale (from Resident Evil 4 Remake)

We're in the last weeks of 2023, which means it's time for us to look back and talk about the best experiences from the year that was. This week, TL Foster rejoins us to kick things off with a chat about our five favorite pieces of DLC this year, after which we'll get into Batman Arkham Trilogy's arrival on Switch, the first glimpse at Amazon's Fallout series, and your favorite videogame soundtracks.

Question of the Week: What's your favorite DLC of 2023?

Break song is Phantom Liberty by Dawid Podsiadło and P.T. Adamczyk.

Happy (American) Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend! This week, we invite Anthony "BruceWayneBrady" Abatte on to talk about action games with chef protagonists, after which we'll get into Super Mario RPG Remake, Small Saga, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, a roundup of Black Friday game deals, and the games that defined the PS4/Xbox One generation for you.

Question of the Week: Do you have a favorite game soundtrack? Like, one you’ll actually sit and listen to? Tell us about it.

Break song is Too Many Cooks by Shawn Coleman and Michael Kohler.

PS4 turned 10 this week, and Xbox One is about to do the same in a few days, so we devoted this week's Top 5 to the games that - for us - defined the console generation that spanned 2013-2020. Then we'll dig into The Game Awards nominations, Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, Backpack Hero, Remnant 2: The Awakened King, and your picks for the Triforce of actors who should play Link, Ganon, and Zelda.

Question of the Week: What game most defines the PS4 and/or Xbox One for you, and why?

The announcement of a live-action Zelda movie inspired us to return to the ever-giving well of videogame movie and TV adaptations - specifically five that don't have a whole lot to do with their source material. We'll then explore Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and Spirittea, hcelebrate the long-overdue official announcement of Grand Theft Auto VI, and hear about the Spider-Verse characters you think deserve their own games.

Question of the Week: Which triforce of actors would you cast as Link, Zelda, and Ganon?

Break song is Maniac Mansion by Jane Siberry and Lou Natale.

Alan Wake 2 is out, and because both it and Spider-Man 2 feature two heroes you can swap between, we decided to dedicate this week's top 5 to dynamic duos you can switch out on a whim. Then we'll dig deeper into Alan Wake 2 (of course!), the Five Nights at Freddy's film, Jusant, Thirsty Suitors, Call of Duty Modern Warfare III's campaign, Atari buying Digital Eclipse, and your go-to games for spooky season.

Question of the Week: Which Spider-Verse character needs a spinoff game?

Break song is Friday Night from Yakuza 0.

As another Spooptober nears its end, we close things out with five games that will drive you mad, MAD... like, as a gameplay mechanic, with sanity meters and in-game hallucinations. Then we'll dig into the past week's bumper crop of new releases, including Mario Wonder, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Slay the Princess; look at the reveals from Xbox's Partner Preview, and the otherwise benign games that scared you as a kid.

Question of the Week: Do you have a go-to game or series you like to play during spooky season?

Break song is Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches.

We're still in the middle of spooky season, but with Mario Wonder and Sonic Superstars filling this week with color and cheer, we combined cute with creepy and got a top 5 about some of the biggest scares that Mario ever dragged us through. Then we'll get into Wizard With A Gun, Hellboy Web of Wyrd, Skull Island: The Rise of Kong, Best Buy phasing out physical media, and the real-world places you love to see in games.

QOTW: What seemingly benign videogame used to scare you as a kid?

We enter our second week of Spooptober™ with a look at how the happy haunts of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion have been portrayed in five different games — one of which turns 20 in a few days. Then we'll marvel at Forza Motorsport and the Robocop: Rogue City demo, scratch our heads at the PS5's strange new modular makeover. and hear about the abandoned game servers you've haunted in the past.

QOTW: Obviously, Matt and Chris geek out about Disney park appearances in games. What real-world location do you geek out about when it appears in a game?

Another spooky season is upon us, and this one arrives alongside a new Castlevania series! To mark the occasion, we've invited Mike Williams back on to revisit five of the worst-reviewed Castlevania games to see whether they really deserve their bad reputations. Then we'll get into Assassin's Creed Mirage, The Lamplighters League, the "official" pronunciation of Cait Sith, and the times you switched console allegiances.

QOTW: Have you ever “haunted” an old game server well past its prime? Tell us why and what it was like!

The one-two punch of Cyberpunk 2077 rolling out version 2.0 and Phantom Liberty inspired us to grab Brendan "The Crawl" Hesse for a look at five games that managed to win back hearts and minds after especially rocky launches. Then we'll dive into Resident Evil 4 Remake's Separate Ways DLC, Phantom Liberty, and El Paso, Elsewhere before talking about Jim Ryan leaving PlayStation and your favorite Mortal Kombat Fatalities.

QOTW: How many times have you switched allegiances and changed your primary gaming platform?

Mortal Kombat 1 hit this week, so we're starting this week's show with a look at five games that sought to recapture its blood-spraying, digitized-actor magic back in the '90s. Joining us are Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski, formerly of Wii Universe and Ultra 64, and presently (in Steve's case) of CinemArcade and Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks. Then we'll dig into MK1 and LIes of P, talk about some of the big stories from the Xbox leak, and hear about your favorite racing games.

QOTW: What's your favorite Mortal Kombat fatality?

Not too long ago, any publisher worth its salt had to have at least one major racing franchise - but somewhere along the line that changed, leaving us with a relative handful of big-deal arcade racers and sims for dedicated speed freaks. WIth this week's release of The Crew Motorfest and the first new F-Zero game in 20 years, let's take a look at five once-huge racers that retired long ago, after which we'll get way too deep into Thursday's Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play, more Starfield chat, the Unity debacle, and the genres you think Bethesda should tackle next.

QOTW: What’s your all-time favorite racing game?

This is a massive week for RPG fans, with Starfield and Baldur's Gate III both hitting consoles - but before we get into that, Chris "cbake" Baker joins us to talk about five games that - despite being licensed from American comics, cartoons, and movies - never saw the light of day in the US! (He also plugs his new book, X-Wings, Lightsabers, and Scorpion Vader, available now on Amazon.) Then we'll dig into the aforementioned RPGs, a smattering of Nintendo news, and the games or series you think should get Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series treatment.

QOTW: Now that they've done fantasy, post-apocalypse, and sci-fi, what genre would you like to see a Bethesda-style RPG set in?

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon marks the landmark mecha series' return after a 10-year absence - so this week, Greg Moore joins us to talk about five other mecha series that are overdue for a return. Then we'll get into Armored Core VI (of course), The Making of Karateka, Goodbye Volcano High, Samba De Amigo: Party Central, Sea of Stars, the Switch outselling the Wii, and who you think the new voice of Mario should be.

Question of the Week: What game deserves The Making of Karateka/Digital Eclipse Gold Master Series treatment next?

Charles Martinet, iconic voice of Mario, is stepping down from the role - and whie it's difficult to imagine the character without him, he's far from the first actor to embody the plucky Brooklyn plumber. This week, Dave Rudden and Anthony Abatte join Chris and Mikel for a look at five other actors' takes on Mario, after which we'll get into Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Immortals of Aveum, a smattering of news from Gamescom and Opening Night Live, and the games you'd like to see get a Quake II-style glow-up.

QOTW: Who do you think should be the next voice of Mario?

When Mikel's away, Chris and Matt (and TL) will play - and we're not just talking about how much fun Chris had playing with the soundboard this week. In this episode, we stretch the limits of our format - and possibly your patience - to its utmost, as we forego individual game entries and talk about game design tropes that just won't die. Then it's back to business as usual as we break down the new Madden game, the surprise rerelease of Quake II, all the news from the THQ Nordic Digital Showcase, and more. Did we mention there's a soundboard?

Question of the Week: What classic game deserves a Quake II-style glow-up rerelease?

This week, the incomparable Greg Moore joins us to talk about his experiences shadowing pro players at this year's EVO fighting-game tournament - and to keep the theme going, we'll talk about five characters from non-fighting games who somehow ended up as mainstays in fighting series. Then we'll go deeper into Baldur's Gate 3, EVO announcements, Nintendo patenting systems in Tears of the Kingdom, and your favorite mainstream actors who crossed into games.

QOTW: What famous character should be in a fighting game who hasn’t already been?

This week, we said goodbye to a legend - Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman - and as has become habit when celebrities we like pass away, we're paying tribute with a look at five of his videogame roles. Then we'll get into Remnant II, Venba, Switch successor rumors, Glorbo, and the first game stories you remember getting invested in.

Digital Eclipse's legendary Chris Kohler joins us this week to talk about his upcoming The Making of Karateka interactive documentary, which delves into Jordan Mechner's groundbreaking classic of cinematic videogame storytelling like never before. It's also got a really annoying bird in it, so we'll also chat about five of the most frustrating bird enemies in videogame history, after which we'll get into Remnant II, Pikmin 4, and your favorite Xbox Live gaming memories.

Barbie and Oppenheimer turned movie counter-programming into a cultural event, so let's seize on that by inviting Ryan Harig of Zanzeezee Podcast for a look at five dates when two huge and/or weirdly dissonant videogames debuted at the same time. Then we'll get into Exoprimal, My Friendly Neighborhood, Gravity Circuit, more Microsoft/Activision drama and Game Pass news, and the long-lost games you'd love to see re-released.

Nintendo has generally done a great job of making classic Mario games widely available; no matter the system, you'll be able to play Super Mario Bros. and its sequels in some form. But not all Mario games get that kind of support, and in fact, there are a few that have been all but forgotten since their original release. This week, Jim Stormdancer (of Frog Fractions and Topic Lords fame) joins us for a look at five Mario games that never got a second chance at life, after which we'll get into Limited Run Games' showcase, classic games disappearing, Microsoft edging closer to finally gobbling up Activision, and your favorite movie-based games.

A new Indiana Jones movie has hit theaters, and that's all the excuse we need to grab Framework's Tony Wilson and devote a show to five of Dr. Jones' best starring roles in videogames. Then we'll talk about Six Days in Fallujah hitting early access, Blumhouse looking to make more videogame adaptations after Five Nights at Freddy's, and the games you're most looking forward to in the next six months.

The midpoint of the year means it’s time to decide what our five favorite games of the past six months are, and this week we’re joined by Jesse Cox of Chilluminati (among other projects) to help us count ’em down. Then we’ll dig into Sludge Life 2, unravel the latest knot of Activision-Microsoft news, and hear about your favorite games of the year so far.

The OUYA turned 10 this week, having fallen well short of its mission to reset the games industry as we knew it - so this week, we'll take a look at what went wrong, along with what happened to four other platforms that limped along or blazed out in the face of overwhelming competition over the past 10 years. Then we'll dig into Sonic Origins Plus, Aliens: Dark Descent, the wealth of Nintendo Direct announcements, and the pop-culture characters whose canonical ages make you feel old.

Summer Game Fest and a broad assortment of other showcases happened over the past week, unveiling hours of new trailers, gameplay footage, and announcements - so we're breaking format this week to focus on the news, pulling highlights from the deluge to talk about the reveals we found most interesting. We'll still cap it off with a look at new releases, including the Final Fantasy XVI and Lies of P demos, but there's a lot to discuss before we get there, so strap in!

Street Fighter 6 is out, and we're celebrating by inviting Emmett Watkins Jr. for a chat about five of the franchise's most off-kilter weirdos that we hope make a comeback in the very near future. Then we'll delve into Diablo IV, Killer Frequency, Bowser's canonical age, Apple's $3500 headset, and your favorite Street Fighter characters.

In 1992, Alone in the Dark pioneered the genre that would become known as "survival horror," with polygonal zombies and fixed camera angles similar to those that propelled Resident Evil to massive success a few years later. With a new Alone in the Dark on the horizon to remind us, we're dedicating this week's Top 5 to genre-defining games that got knocked aside by imitators who did it better. Then we'll talk about Street Fighter 6, the System Shock remake, a little Metal Gear Solid Delta news, and the E3-season announcements you're most excited for.

Sidekicks? Tag teams? Amateur stuff. This week, Greg Moore and Dave Rudden rejoin us for a look at five games that push you to move and be aware of two characters at the same time, with no help from another player. Then we'll put the pedal to the plastic in Lego 2K Drive, move fast and wreck stuff in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun and Shinobi Non Grata, get into the raft of announcements from PlayStation Showcase 2023, and hear which Links are your favorite Links.

In Tears of the Kingdom, Link loses an arm but gains a shinier new one that lets him manipulate and fuse matter like a boss, enabling players to create everything from stick-and-rock hammers to functional mechs. That inspired this week's Top 5 about other heroes with cool prosthetic-arm superpowers, for which we're joined by TL Foster. Then we'll get deeper into TotK talk, plus Humanity, Mortal Kombat 1, the scaling-back of Overwatch 2's PVE plans, and your favorite videogame sequels of all time.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is out this week, and it's one of only a few Zelda entries that could really be called sequels, continuing a story started in an earlier game. So this week, Ryan Harig of Zanzeezee podcast joins us to talk about five of our other favorite follow-up Zeldas, after which we'll get into Darkest Dungeon II, Ravenlok, Phil Spencer's Redfall mea culpa, and the most obscure Star Wars facts you know.

The ice planet Hoth was once one of the most ubiquitous levels in Star Wars games, and with more than 50 examples to choose from, some are bound to be kinda weird - so with Chris Baker on board to talk about his upcoming book, "X-Wings, Lightsabers, and Scorpion Vader," we'll take a look at five of the more unusual implementations of Hoth from across videogame history. Then we'll bite into Redfall and get further into Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, talk a bit about the real story behind the Gran Turismo movie, and hear about the times you took a punch to the face.

What if you could wade into a mob of the undead and, rather than being eaten, punch their lights out with your superior brawn? Last week's launch of Dead Island 2 got us thinking, so we re-invited Alex Faciane of Chilluminati and Super Beard Bros back for another appearance so we could talk about games that let you beat up zombies bare-knuckle style. Then we'll get into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Dead Island 2, Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp, Cassette Beasts, the Street Fighter 6 demo, more Microsoft-Activision news, and the brands you'd want to turn into the next Pokémon Go.

What if all our stories of gods and magic weren't mythology, but sufficiently advanced technology? What if the world, nay, galaxy was seeded full of ancient future tech with a cool mystery to discover? Huh? What then? This week, Alex Faciane of Chilluminati and Super Beard Bros rejoins us to talk about five of our favorite long-dead but highly advanced alien precursors in games, after which we'll get into Minecraft Legends, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, reveals from the Nintendo Indies Showcase, and the secondary villains you'd promote to big boss.

This week sees the long-overdue return of erstwhile host Dave "Diamond Dog" Rudden to the show, to talk about five villains who rose from being secondary antagonists to the final boss in later games. Then we'll get into the remake of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, Kabaret, Tron: Identity, Ghostwire Tokyo, the Mario movie's huge box-office returns, and the dead gaming trends you'd like to see make a comeback.

"Modern gaming" has been a thing, more or less, for close to 20 years now, and in that time we've seen a lot of hot new features, ideas, and trends become wildly popular and then fade out of fashion — some more quickly than others. With the Resident Evil 4 Remake excising one such feature from its re-imagining of the original, now seems like a good time to revisit an old topic and update it with five more dead modern-gaming trends,, after which we'll get into Dredge, Meet Your Maker, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a mini-review of the Super Mario Bros. movie, and your favorite memories of the 3DS.

Nintendo finally shuttered the 3DS (and Wii U) eShop this week, on the 12th anniversary of the landmark handheld's North American release, so this week we're paying tribute to it with a look at five of the best digital-only exclusives to have disappeared along with the storefront. Then we'll get into Resident Evil 4 Remake, Tchia, Have A Nice Death, new developments in the Microsoft-Activision-Sony saga, and the actors you think lend gravitas to any role.

Last week, the world lost an iconic and unique talent with the passing of Lance Reddick, an actor who - in addition to a number of film and TV roles - lent his voice and face to a handful of videogame characters. This week, we pay tribute by looking at five of them, after which TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing and Live From the Pool House joins us to talk about WWE 2K23, Resident Evil 4 Remake, more drama around Microsoft, Sony, Call of Duty, and Redfall, and your favorite games that started in Early Access.

John Cena is the cover athlete for this week's launch of WWE 2K23, and his silly catchphrase is enough of a reason to invite Ryan Harig of Zanzeezee podcast to talk about five games that give players cool invisibility powers. Then we'll talk about Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, Valheim and Anno 1800 launching on consoles, Nintendo's justification for Tears of the Kingdom's $70 price tag, and your favorite "forgotten" games from long-running franchises.

Sometimes, wrapping a trilogy leaves developers without a clear path forward - and sometimes, their follow-ups are weird outliers that are quickly forgotten once the series either fades away or finds its footing again. A certain 10-year anniversary this week sent us down a rabbit hole of these games, and once we're done talking about them we'll get deeper into Wo Long, explore Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, talk about Capcom Spotlight, and hear about the games you'd improve by adding pro-wrestling moves.

Wrestling and videogames have been closely intertwined since the early days - and this week, Jarrett Green of IGN and Welcome to the Thing joins us to talk about five non-wrestling games that nevertheless let you crush your enemies with piledrivers and powerbombs. Then we'll scratch the surface of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, chat about the validity and/or offensiveness of "JRPG" as a term, and look at the franchises you'd like to see recast their characters in new roles.

Now that Super Nintendo World is bringing videogame aesthetics to Universal Studios, we're marking the occasion by inviting Emmett Watkins Jr. for a chat about five games set entirely in theme parks — specifically the kind that characters are usually struggling to leave. Then we'll get into Like A Dragon: Ishin and Atomic Heart, Blumhouse getting into games, more about the Microsoft-Activision merger saga, and your personal stories of UFO encounters.

UFOs have been in the news a lot lately, and while they're most likely of the non-extraterrestrial variety, it seemed like a good time to grab Mike Williams of Fanbyte for a chat about five games themed around UFOs and alien abductions. Then we'll dig into Wanted: Dead, Wild Hearts, Blanc, Game Pass cannibalizing game sales, and the real and fictional places you'd like to see re-created in open worlds.

Open-world games, at their best, can be detailed portals to places we've always wanted to visit, whether real or fictitious - and this week, Anthony Abatte joins us for a look at five sandbox games that offer prime opportunities for virtual tourism. Then we'll talk about THAT game, plus Pizza Tower, news from this week's Nintendo Direct, and your favorite pieces of "idle" music.

Last week, the games industry defied licensing issues and rivalries to bring back GoldenEye 007 - and its banger pause-menu music, which inspired us to grab TL Foster for a quick Top 5 about our favorite pieces of music that play when we don't. Then we'll dig into the Dead Space remake, Hi-Fi Rush, Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, Inkulinati, and the game dialogue you enjoy listening to most.

January is traditionally the dumping ground for movies that studios don't expect to do well, so before it's over, let's grab Chris Baker for a look at five movies that got game adaptations in spite of being obscure, deeply weird, and/or outright commercial flops. After that, we'll rocket straight into Forspoken and Fire Emblem Engage, The Avengers game sunsetting, a new episode of The Last of Us TV show, and the creators you'd like to see return to the games industry.

There's a lot of overlap between the videogame and animation industries, but it's always a big deal when a big name in 2D cel animation decides to apply their talents to something interactive. This week, we'll look at five standout collaborations between game developers and old-school animators, after which we'll touch on Colossal Cave, Persona 3 and 4 coming to Game Pass, the demise of Stadia, and the games you'd like to see "enhanced" by voiceovers and/or FMV.

The Sega CD (or Mega-CD) turned 32(!) last month, and it remains the home not just of questionable FMV games and music-video makers, but of some of the best and weirdest versions of 16-bit games that were popular on other consoles at the time. Along with Greg Moore, we'll delve into five ancient games that got unforgettably "upgraded" with speech and FMV cutscenes, after which we'll talk about Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, Borderlands movie news, the alleged end of PS5 shortages, and the upcoming games you're most looking forward to this year.

As a new year dawns, it's time to look ahead to the next 12 months (with help from Anthony "BruceWayneBrady" Abatte) and the five games we're most excited for. Will any surprise you? Probably not! But they'll be fun to talk about anyway. Then it's on to a few games we missed last year, including Sports Story, River City Girls 2, and Choo-Choo Charles, after which we'll talk about whether there's more story to be wrung from The Last of Us and your personal GOTYs of 2022.

The clock's running out on 2022, so let's cap it off with part 2 of our GOTY show, with our Top 5 Games of 2022 and a roster of guests including Brendan Hesse of The Crawl, Kat Bailey of IGN and Axe of the Blood God, Tony Wilson of Framework, and Wii Universe's Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski! Which games claimed our top honors this year? Jump in and find out!

As another year draws to a close, it's time to look back on the past 12 months and pick our top 10 games of the year, with help from special guests including Alex Faciane, Kat Bailey, TL Foster, Chris Baker, Anthony Abatte, and Tony Wilson. Following last year's precedent, we're splitting the top 10 into two manageable chunks. Check out our picks for 10 through 6 this week, and stay tuned for next week, when we'll tackle 5 through 1!

2022 is almost over, but wait! There’s still DLC to talk about! So let’s grab Brendan Hesse for a look at five of our favorite pieces of DLC to launch this year, after which we’ll get into the Game Awards, High on Life, Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion, Lil Gator Game, God of War going live-action, and your favorite remasters/remakes of 2022.

This year has seen some excellent revivals of old games on new hardware, so let's kick off awards season a little early and take a look at our five favorite remasters and remakes of 2022, after which we'll get into The Callisto Protocol, Marvel's Midnight Suns, Need for Speed Unbound, Microsoft's acquisition moves, and movie games that stuck out in your head as ignoring the movies' plots.

Against all odds, we've somehow made it to 500 episodes, so we're celebrating by inviting a Secret Mystery Guest and digging into the five videogame franchises we've talked about the most over the past 499 episodes. Then we'll break format and talk about 10 games that have NEVER been in our Top 5s, plus a couple of brief cameos by other Secret Mystery Guests!

Some games based on movies try to faithfully adapt the events of the film; others invent new scenes to pad out their runtime. And a select few throw the script in the garbage and invent their own version of events, and it's that last category that Chris Baker joins us this week to discuss. Then we'll talk more about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet; get into Gungrave GORE, The Devil in Me, and Evil West; and take a last-minute look at Black Friday game deals and the Nintendo franchises you think are due for an overhaul.

With this week marking the 10-year anniversary of the Wii U's release, TL Foster joins us for a look at five of the coolest games that still haven't made the jump to Switch. Then we'll dig into Pentiment, Tactics Ogre: Reborn, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, check out The Game Awards 2022 GOTY nominations, and hear you talk about old stuff you're not nostalgic for (but still love hearing about anyway).

This week, we take a look at five of the most sophisticated, fantastically expensive gaming devices ever released - you know, the ones the REALLY rich kid at your school had - with font of knowledge Dan Amrich, who also tells us quite a lot about his involvement with Atari 50, which is out now. Then we'll get into God of War and Sonic Frontiers, highlights from the Nintendo Indie Showcase, and your favorite videogame trilogies of all time.

The arrival of Resident Evil Village's Winters' Expansion DLC - which adds a new story starring Ethan's daughter Rose - inspired us to dig into five sequels where the hero's kid steps into the spotlight as the new protagonist. Then we'll get into Bayonetta 3, PSVR2's price and release date reveal, and the most you've ever spent on a game-related purchase.

It's our last show of spooky season, so TL Foster joins us for a look at five games that gave players the chance to be slasher villains, stalking and slaying hapless campers, partygoers, and other movie-inspired machete-fodder. Then we'll get into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Gotham Knights, the Witcher getting a modern remake, and your favorite bits from G4.

Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed is out this week and it's great, so we're leaning fully into it (and technically staying on-theme for Spooptober) by inviting Dan Amrich for a chat about the best and most memorable Ghostbusters games of the past 38 years. Then we'll get into Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, A Plague Tale: Requiem, the Silent HIll Transmission revelations, and your thoughts on who should play Mario.

It's the second week of Spooptober, so Tony Wilson of Framework joins us for a look at five games where holding your breath can make you invisible to ghosts and monsters - for as long as you can keep it in. Then we'll get into Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, reactions to the Mario movie trailer and the canceled Kingdom Hearts TV show, and your scariest water-related stories.

It's the first week of October, which means the start of four weeks of unbridled terror (OK not really) as we focus on horror games! This week, Anthony Abatte joins us to talk about five games that went for underwater scares, often by sticking players into oppressive deep-sea environments filled with massive wildlife and other threats. Then we'll switch gears to talk about Overwatch 2, Valkyrie Elysium, Stadia's shutdown, and your favorite X-Men.

Welcome to the Hellmouth Weirdos! Your favorite Morbid hosts Ash and Alaina are branching out from true crime and heading to Sunnydale for the ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rewatch podcast! Alaina is a Buffy superfan and Ash has never watched a single episode, so whether you’re Team Angel, Team Spike, or have no clue who those people are…they’ve got you covered!

Join them each week as they slay their way through the series, episode by episode, re-watching, and watching for the very first time. They’ll break down Buffy and her friends' adventures through weekly recaps, categories, and awards while Ash takes some (wooden stake) stabs at predicting what she thinks will happen next. They'll also welcome the occasional Buffy cast member, guest star, or celebrity superfan to join in the slaying.

Listen to The ReWatcher: http://wondery.fm/LT_ReWatcher

With Hugh Jackman confirming his return as Wolverine for Deadpool 3, we're going topical this week and inviting Steve Guntli of Wii Universe for a look at the five "best" games to star Logan by his lonesome. Then it's on to Session: Skate Simulator, Beacon Pines, more Metal Hellsinger, Disney's Star Wars game plans, and your preferences re: looking at leaks.

Return to Monkey Island hit this week, and its opening inspired us to bring Tony Wilson aboard for a look at five games that start you off as someone who'll shortly exit and won't be playable again for the rest of the game.* Then it's on to Trombone Champ, Metal Hellsinger, the GTA 6 leak, PSVR2 leaving PSVR games behind, and your favorite two-and-through series.

* Yep, we already did this topic in 2019, but only realized it after the fact. The discussion, however, is totally new!

After seeing more of God of War Ragnarök at Sony's State of Play this week, we felt inspired to look at other series that told their stories across (or were abandoned after) just two games, something that's only really strange because we're so used to everything being trilogies in this industry. Then we'll dig into Steelrising, Freedom Planet 2, the reveals from State of Play, the Nintendo Direct, and Ubisoft Forward, and your personal Lord of the Rings-related stories.

With Amazon debuting the absurdly expensive Rings of Power series last week, we decided it was as good a time as any to chat about five of the best Lord of the Rings games, with special guest Anthony Abatte. Then it's on to Splatoon 3, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Immortality, Sony and Microsoft beefing over Call of Duty, and the classic games you'd like to see gathered up in lavish, detail-filled collections.

Everybody's familiar with scary videogame clowns, from Sweet Tooth to Generic Zombie Clown #27, but how many pure, unironic clowns can you think of? This week, the legendary Chris Baker joins us to talk about five of them, after which we'll get into his new game, Circus Electrique (out September 6), as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed, Big Chungus potentially joining MultiVersus, and the series you think could stand to get sillier.

This week saw the return of Saints Row after a nine-year hiatus (or five, if you count Agents of Mayhem), so we're honoring its hero's journey from so-so GTA-like to ridiculous fantasy with a Top 5 about game series that ran out of fucks and to embraced absurdity. Then TL Foster joins us to talk about not just the new Saints Row but Midnight Fight Express, Gamescom announcements, and your favorite fictional sports.

Madden’s out this week, but it’s been a big week for games about made-up sports as well, what with Rollerdrome and Rumbleverse busting onto the scene with their improbable competitions. So let’s take a look at five other games entirely about sports that would be difficult if not impossible to re-create in real life, after which we’ll get into Cult of the Lamb, NFL Blitz getting a censored Arcade1Up release, and the games you’ve restarted the most without ever finishing.

Light-gun games have all but disappeared from relevance, but there was a time when they were everywhere — and in those days, it was possible for some real gems to be overlooked. Dan Amrich joins us for a look back at five light-gun shooters that deserve another, closer look, after which we'll get into Pac-Man live-action movie news, EVO 2022 announcements, Splatoon 3 reveals, and your all-time favorite videogame weapons.

With this week's release of Frogun and its titular talking weapon, we welcome back Tony Wilson of Framework for a chat about five of our other favorite talking implements of destruction. Then it's on to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Hooked on You: A Dead By Daylight Dating Sim, Grand Theft Auto 6 rumors, and your favorite videogame villains to play as.

Bringing an enemy around to your way of thinking can be a powerful thing - and in games, adding a former nemesis to your ranks can be a lot cooler than offing them. TL Foster joins us to talk about five of our favorite examples, after which we'll dig into Live A Live, highlights from the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, and the games you wanted badly enough to import.

Live A Live's launch this week is a reminder that even if a Japanese game doesn't come to the US for decades, it doesn't mean it never will. With localization expert Greg Moore in the guest-host chair, we chat about five games that took ages to get English releases, after which we sharpen our claws on Stray and MultiVersus, speculate about John Romero's new shooter, and get into the weeds with your childhood anecdotes that kids today just wouldn't understand.

"1980s kids in peril" has been pretty thoroughly mined as a concept by now, and yet relatively few games have tried to recapture the (heavily idealized and romanticized) experience of being a kid in that strange decade - so let's grab Leif Johnson and talk about five of them! Then we'll get into Monster Hunter Rise's Sunbreak expansion, Last Call BBS, Robocop's new game announcement, and your earliest memories of being wowed by games.

We're pretty big suckers for Super NES nostalgia, to the point where we decided it'd be a good idea to grab Greg Moore and talk in a non-visual medium about five games that made incredible use of the 16-bit console's most striking visual effect. Then we'll talk more about Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, the Skull and Bones reveal, and your favorite games of 2022 so far.

We're at the halfway point of another year, which means it's time to look back and anoint our five favorite games of 2022's first six months, with help from TL Foster! Then we'll get into the Capcom Fighting Collection, Cuphead's Delicious Last Course, more Neon White discourse, Nintendo Direct news, and your favorite videogame dinosaur moments!

One of humanity's greatest regrets is that we never existed at the same time as dinosaurs, and therefore never got to fight them in a planetwide Thunderdome for control of existence. So instead, we imagine the conflict over and over in videogames. This week, Chris picks out five of the best games to feature human-on-dinosaur violence, after which we'll get into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Neon White, news about Final Fantasy VII Remake and Dragon's Dogma sequels, and your favorite multi-version games.

Videogames aren't always the most welcoming medium for newcomers, and one way they can confuse is through their titles; some series are easy enough to decipher, while others are Byzantine jumbles of numbers and subtitles. With game-industry legend Chris Baker on board, we look at five series with nonsensical titles, after which we'll dig into Summer Games Fest, the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, Capcom's reveals, and the announcements from the above that you're most excited for.

If they were to happen in real life, the events of a lot of videogames could leave a person seriously messed up - and yet, videogame protagonists always seem to effortlessly bounce back in time for a new adventure. Every so often, though, the events of one game will leave a hero at their breaking point in the next, and this week we invite Tony Wilson of Framework for a chat about five standout examples of heroes who had a hard time coping with the things they'd seen and done. Then we'll get into The Quarry, Sony's State of Play, and the movie characters you think more games should shamelessly rip off.

Back in the '80s, Rambo (along with a lot of other action and sci-fi movie franchises) had a huge influence on game developers, and there was a point when the standard uniform for serious arcade action heroes was just a pair of pants and a headband. This week, TL Foster joins us for a celebration of five of gaming's most memorable John Rambo clones, after which we'll dig into Sniper Elite 5, Diablo Immortal, PlayStation's TV and movie plans, and the fad toys that disappointed you the most as kids.

This week was sandwiched between an elaborate MultiVersus Trailer and the new Rescue Rangers movie, so naturally our thoughts gravitated toward children's TV animation — specifically, five of our favorite games based on it — and we invited Jeremy King of the Film Heat podcast on to help us talk about it. Then it's on to Sony's latest PS+ announcements, rumors of new Silent Hills, and the EA games you'd like to see get a remake.

With this week's release of Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising — a side-scrolling prequel to the upcoming JRPG Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes — we've invited Anthony Abatte on for a look at five other times big games gave players a little taste with all-too-brief (non-demo) prequel games before launch. Then we'll slash our way through Trek to Yomi and Salt and Sacrifice, revisit Rogue Legacy 2, speculate about EA's upcoming projects, and hear about the pack-in games you spent the most time with.

Some (mostly older) game consoles launched with generation-defining games packed into the box; others found them a little later down the line. This week, we'll take a look at five of the best games ever to be added as a bonus after their native consoles had already been around for a little while, after which we'll get into Nintendo Switch Sports, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe, Square Enix selling off its western studios, and the books you think would make the best games.

Dune: Spice Wars hit early access on PC this week, and its based-on-the-movie-based-more-closely-on-the-book status inspired us to invite Ryan Harig of Conspiracy Therapy on for a chat about five games that directly adapted novels and short stories. Then we'll get into Norco, Sony's game-preservation efforts, the Mario movie getting delayed, and your favorite "lesser" versions of more prominent games.

With The Batman hitting streaming this week, our dormant interest in The Caped Crusader has been rekindled, and we've invited Dan Amrich on for a chat about five of the best (non-Arkham) Batman games. Then we'll get into the Ghostbusters VR reveal, Sega's alleged Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio reboots, and the properties you'd like to see folded, inevitably, into the Kingdom Hearts universe.

Not only did this week's launch of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga pleasantly surprise us — it inspired us to invite Greg Moore on for a Top 5 about lightsabers in non-Star Wars games. Then we'll mourn E3's cancellation, revisit Tunic, and hear your thoughts about Sony's PS+ plans.

There's an argument to be made for videogame graphics being TOO detailed when that detail starts to include rendered, clearly visible buttholes on little dogs, giant pigs, and other things we won't mention here. But we WILL mention them in the show, as Tony Wilson of Framework joins us to talk about five games that didn't hide their shame, after which we'll get into Weird West, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Breath of the Wild 2 getting delayed, and the lesser-known games you'd adapt as TV shows.

The reappearance of a certain recurring deceiver in Elden Ring inspired this week's Top 5, in which we take a look at some of gaming's most prolific, remorseless, and - inevitably - successful liars ever to repeately pull a metaphorical football away from our digital Charlie Brown at the last second. Then we'll get into Ghostwire: Tokyo, A Plague Tale coming to TV, and your favorite Final Fantasy himbos.

Usually, games based on a popular media franchises let you embody the main characters from movies, TV shows, or books. This week, though, we'll rope in Brendan "The Crawl" Hesse for a look at five games that cast you as some new nobody who just gets to hang out with the heroes. Then we'll talk about Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Tunic, Paradise Killer, ID@Xbox, somehow more Elden Ring, and the longest amounts of time you've invested in getting an achievement or trophy.

WWE 2K22 launches this week, inspiring us to take a look at the way wrestling matches have been represented in non-"sports entertainment" games over the years. Then we'll dig into Gran Turismo 7, lots more Elden Ring, Sony's State of Play, and your feelings on cryptic vs. straightforward games.

Elden Ring is here, and we can't shut up about it! But before we start being unable to shut up, let's grab Tony Wilson of Framework for a look at five of our favorite open worlds created by Japanese developers. Then we'll talk about GRID Legends, Martha is Dead, Destiny 2 The Witch Queen, Shadow Warrior 3, rumors of Amiico's premature demise, and the games you got the furthest in without actually finishing them.

Some plot twists are just too good to keep under wraps for long, whether because of a game's popularity, loose-lipped fans, or sequels that build their lore on formerly secret knowledge. This week, Larry Charles joins us for a look at five once-shocking plot twists that have become too broadly known to even be considered spoilers anymore; we're talking "I am your father!"-level, here (but you'll get warnings and timestamps anyway, just in case). Then we'll get into Horizon: Forbidden West, Perfect Tides, Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster, the Street Fighter 6 reveal, and the 3DS and Wii U exclusives you think people should grab before they disappear.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is out this week, and while it's not quite an open-world game, there was a point when a lot of people thought it was going to be - so with Leif Johnson on board, let's take a look at five series that ditched linearity for an open-world approach. Then we'll shift gears to talk about Windjammers 2, more news from the Microsoft-Activision merger, and some of the dream projects you'd like to see after it happens.

Rainbow Six Extraction is out this week, pitting three players against the creepy mutant Archaeans - and we had so much fun playing it as a trio that we decided to talk about five of our favorite videogame trios (as a trio, naturally) in the first half of the show. Then it's time to talk about our experience with Extraction, Microsoft buying Activision, and the ways you like to combine fitness and gaming.

January is the time for new-year's resolutions - and what resolution is more popular, more strenuous, and more quickly abandoned than the one to get in shape? This week, we grab PNB's Robert Beach for a look at five games that make exercise more fun, after which we'll jump into Gar Cry 6's Pagan: Control DLC, Take-Two's Zynga acquisition, in-person E3's cancellation (again), and the games you're looking forward to most this year.

Another new year begins, as we shake off the holiday cobwebs and get back up to speed with a look ahead at five games we're especially excited to get our hands on in the next 12 months. Will all of them see the light of day? Finding out is part of the fun! With that done, we'll pay tribute to departed icon John Madden, speculate about PSVR2, and hear which 2021 games were your personal GOTYs.

Our two-part countdown of 2021's best games concludes this week with our five favorite games of the year, with help from special guests Micah Seff; Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski of Wii Universe; Kat Bailey of IGN and Axe of the Blood God; Leif Johnson; Jorge Albor of Experience Points; Tony Wilson of Framework; and Greg Moore. Which games captivated us enough to merit almost two hours of chatter? Start listening and find out!

It's time once again to look back on another great year for games and pick our favorites, and this year we're breaking from tradition: Instead of one gargantuan show to mark the end of the year, we're splitting our top 10 across a more digestible two episodes, with this week's show covering entries 10 through 6. But don't fret - we're still going big on these, with a rotating lineup of guest hosts including Brendan Hesse, Steve Guntli, Woody Ciskowski, John Brandon, Anthony Abatte, Jorge Albor, and Tony Wilson. And come back next week, when we'll tear through 5 through 1!

2021 is drawing to a close(!), and all things considered it's been a pretty great year for videogames. Before we begin our annual GOTY countdown next week, let's invite Tony Wilson of Framework for a look at five of our favorite downloadable expansions this year, after which we'll dig into the Game Awards, some big Assassin's Creed news, and the most expensive gaming accessories you've ever bought.

December is here and the snow is upon (some of) us, so this week, we're taking a look at games that let us step back from the action, take a deep breath, and nail someone real good with a snowball. Then we'll get into early impressions of Halo Infinite, jump belatedly into Solar Ash, get excited for Dr. Dre in GTA Online, and hear your thoughts on whether PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold should stick around.

When is the end not the end? When a hinky-looking credits sequence is interrupted to let you know the game's not over yet. This week, PNB's TL Foster rejoins us to talk about five times games faked us out with false endings, after which we'll (finally!) talk about Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, get excited for an anti-scalper-bot bill, and hear who you'd want to purchase Sega (were it ever for sale).

Happy Black Friday, everybody! With Thanksgiving on our minds this week, we dedicated this week's Top 5 to cooking minigames in bigger, non-cooking-themed games, after which we'll wonder at the possibilities of WB's MultiVersus, delve into a few highly topical game deals, and look at the villains you'd like to play as.

With this week’s release of the Vaas: Insanity DLC for Far Cry 6, we welcome first-time guest Doug Trein of Basileus Games for a look at five other sequels and expansions that let us embody one of a game’s villains, even if just for a little while. Then we’ll move on to Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, Halo: Infinite multiplayer, the last batch of backwards-compatible Xbox games, and your favorite videogame liars.

An "unreliable narrator" can mean that a character is withholding information or deceiving you, or it can, in a very literal sense, mean a narrator who just doesn't have their shit together. Leif Johnson joins us for a look at the latter this week, as we delve into five games that shift and bend to the whims of their narrators' disembodied voices, after which we'll get into Call of Duty: Vanguard, Forza Horizon 5, the promise of double-digit game reveals in this year's Game Awards, and the IP you think deserves its own Smash game.

Delivering a good, solid kick in a game feels great, especially when it sends your enemies flying helplessly into spikes or off cliffs. This week, the regular VGA crew pays tribute to five of the greatest, meatiest kick attacks ever to grace first-person games, after which we'll start to unpack Unpacking, try not to say too much about Inscryption, see Seth Rogen get his own Donkey Kong movie, and hear which games you think deserve Halloween-themed missions.

Halloween is almost here, so Anthony Abatte joins us for a look at five times games set aside a chunk of their (non-seasonal) storylines to celebrate Halloween with themed levels or missions! Then we'll wrap up our final show of Spooptober '21 with Resident Evil 4 VR, Riders Republic, Guardians of the Galaxy, reactions to the Uncharted trailer and PlayStation State of Play, and your favorite in-game animal companions.

Ready to face what lurks in the shadows? No? What if you had... A DOG? Greg Moore rejoins us this week for a look at five horror games that pit you and a canine partner against unspeakable terrors, after which we'll get into The Good Life, be surprised about God of War coming to PC, and look at the settings you'd like to see in more horror games.

Metroid Dread has launched the series in a suspenseful new direction, and given us an excuse to spend this week talking about some of our favorite horror games set in space, with special guest Alex Faciane of Chilluminati and Super Beard Bros! Then it's on to (of course) Metroid Dread, Back 4 Blood, the official announcement of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, and the childhood toys you think deserve great videogame adaptations.

There's something inherently eerie about an empty or abandoned hotel - especially if it's only been abandoned by the living. With Framework's Tony Wilson on board for our second week of Spooptober '21, let's look at five highly memorable haunted hotels, after which we'll talk Far Cry 6, Metroid Dread, Hot Wheels Unleashed, the Twitch hack, and your dream Mario-movie casting.

Today marks the return of Spooptober, when all of our shows are Halloween-themed for a whole month — but since it's just getting started, let's ease in with guest Greg Moore and five games that let you play as a psychopomp, someone who guides the dead into the afterlife (or, y'know, just punches their ticket, one way or another). Then we'll pivot to ActRaiser Renaissance, Death Stranding Director's Cut, Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye, last week's Nintendo Direct (including THAT casting news), and whether you like episodic games better than stories you get all at once.

Grand Theft Auto V just turned eight last week, just months shy of its launch on a third console generation - so let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five other games that just keep coming back, with endless re-releases, remasters, and remakes on new hardware. Then we'll investigate Lost Judgement, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the fallout from Epic v. Apple, and the game-ds trends you'd like to see more (or less) of.

Deathloop is out this week, and we're excited to talk about it - but first, let's ease in with some a look at five other top-tier time-loop games that came along since we last covered the topic in episode 250. Then it's on to Deathloop, The Artful Escape, WarioWare: Get It Together, last week's PlayStation Showcase, and the game characters you'd want to see kaiju-sized.

Being normal-sized is cool and all, but what if you could - just for a little bit - get really, enormously huge and just stomp all the monsters or whatever who thought they could push you around? This week, Leif Johnson joins us for a look at five games that (temporarily!) grow their heroes to giant size, after which we'll get into FIST: Forged in Shadow Torch, Sonic Colors Ultimate, Lake, chip-supply shortages, and your best camp stories.

With another summer more or less over, this week's show takes a look at five games that used summer camp - a place alternately associated with freedom, fun, or terror, depending on the context - as a backdrop for adventure (or muuuurder)! Then we'll dig into No More Heroes III, Maneater: Truth Quest, Yakuza's creator reportedly leaving Sega, and the games you'd love to see get an expanded director's cut.

This week marks 30 years(!) since the North American launch of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System - by our measure, one of the best consoles ever. To celebrate, we invited Tony Wilson of Framework back on to talk about five of our favorite characters that debuted on Nintendo's 16-bit monster, after which we shift to Psychonauts 2, Twelve Minutes, Gamescom news, and the game worlds you'd love to take a road trip through.

When it comes to crucibles that test the bonds of friendship or family, few burn hotter than the one where you lock yourselves into a moving vehicle for hours and hours and hours. As summer winds down, we've invited Tony Wilson of Framework for a look at some of the best games built around long road trips, letting us experience the fun and camaraderie of the road without the tedium and frustration (usually). Then it's on to Marvel's Avengers: War for Wakanda, Road 96, Boyfriend Dungeon, and the underrepresented animals that you'd like to see make more game appearances?

This week has seen an unusual surge in rodent-related media, with star turns for rat swarms in both The Suicide Squad and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. So this week, PNB's TL Foster joins us for a look at five games that featured unstoppable gnawing rat hordes, after which we'll jump into Axiom Verge 2, AC Valhalla's rat-infested The Siege of Paris expansion, Nintendo's Indie World Showcase, and your favorite videogame auteurs.

Only a few big-name game developers are generally seen as "auteurs" — creators with authorial control over (and who get most of the credit for) the games they make. Every so often, one of them strikes out on their own with a bold new project that gets a lot of people excited... and then falls flat on launch. This week, Steve Guntli of Ultra 64 and Wii Universe for a look at five such beautiful disasters, after which we'll dig into The Ascent, Here Comes Niko!, Street Fighter V's final character, and your favorite Ghostbusters games.

Neo: The World Ends With You is out this week, giving us the first completely new TWEWY since the DS original, as well as an excuse to revisit Shibuya, one of Tokyo's coolest neighborhoods. Let's celebrate with a look at five other games that let us explore the streets around the Scramble Crossing, after which we'll dig into Death's Door, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, and Bloodroots; get overwhelmed by Microsoft Flight Simulator's Xbox debut; and hear your thoughts about whether Steam Deck is worth grabbing.

With Steam Deck and the OLED Switch vying for preorders last week, now seems like an opportune time to grab Greg Moore for a look back at five handhelds that tried and failed to take on Nintendo, but made us love them just the same. Then we get swept away by Cris Tales, Cotton Reboot, and Death's Door; muse about Netflix entering the game industry; and look at the genres you think Donkey Kong should tackle next.

Donkey Kong, just like the plumber who debuted alongside him in 1981, has expanded far beyond his arcade roots to appear in everything from racers to rhythm games over the years. To celebrate Kong's 40th anniversary, let's take a look at five different genres covered by the ape's impressive oeuvre of games, after which we'll get into Chris' impressions of Zelda: Skyward Sword, scratch our heads over the $1.5 million Mario 64 cart, and hear the historical periods you think Assassin's Creed Infinity should explore.

Wise old men who lurk in caves to dispense advice and magical weapons are a trope as old as time – but as far as games go, their heyday was firmly in the ’80s. So this week, three cave-dwelling old men named Mikel, Chris, and Matt impart the wisdom of bearded 8-bit hermits to young hero Robert Beach, on loan from PNB. Once that’s over, we’ll dive into Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game, Nintendo’s OLED Switch announcement, and your personal games of the (half-)year.

We've passed the midpoint of the year, so with help from Alex Faciane of Chilluminati and Super Beard Bros, it's time to look back at five games that did the most to light up our first six months of 2021. Then we'll dig into Scarlet Nexus, Cruelty Squad, some interesting Sony rumors and acquisitions, and the long-neglected EA properties you hope to see make an overdue comeback.

Any fictional feud that goes on long enough is bound, sooner or later, to be put on hold for an episode where the hero and villain team up to survive or fight a greater enemy. And this week, PNB's TL Foster joins us for a look at five games where long-established archnemeses (briefly) put aside their differences and worked together. Then we'll dive into Mario Golf: Super Rush, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, the return of a live PAX West, and your favorite announcements from E3 2021.

E3 came back! Holy crap! And don't worry, we'll get deep in the weeds about it on this week's show, but first we welcome PNB's Brendan Hesse and take a look at our favorite episodes of Conan O'Brien's Clueless Gamer, which recently took its last gasp. Then it's on to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, a MASSIVE spate of E3 news, and the save-related memories that defined you.

We've always been great fans of so-called trash pandas at VGA, so when this week's release of Backbone cast one as a down-on-his-luck detective, we indulged our love of raccoons with a Top 5 about games that let you play as them. Then it's on to Chivalry II, the resurfacing of Playdate, Yuji Naka leaving Square Enix, and the most valuable games in your personal collections.

This week, we stumbled onto PriceCharting.com - a huge database of videogame resale values - and thought it'd be fun to invite retro specialists Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski (of Wii Universe) to talk about which (non-sports, non-game show) games PriceCharting thinks are worth the least on various platforms. Then we'll shift to Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown, Horizon: Forbidden West's gameplay reveal, a new cut of the old Super Mario Bros. movie, and the Japan-only games you've longed to get your hands on.

A few weeks ago, we passed the 26th anniversary of the Sega Saturn's deeply weird US launch, so as a belated celebration, Greg Moore joins us to talk about five of the best games that never made it stateside for Sega's wildly underrated 32-bit console. Then we'll jump into Biomutant, Knockout City, rumors of a Final Fantasy Soulslike, and the children's stories you think should get a bit darker.

Well, here it is, episode 420 - but we already did games that let you smoke pot 311 episodes ago! So instead, let's look at celebrities who've appeared in videogames and now have their own (legal!) cannabis brands, with help from PNB's TL Foster. Then it's on to Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, eBay banning sales of AO-rated games, and the ways our listeners are related to fame.

Resident Evil Village has its hooks firmly into the whole crew this week, so let's invite PCMag.com's Mike Williams back on to talk about it (and Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Wrath of the Druids DLC) a whole bunch more! We also keep the Resident Evil theme going this week with a look at five standout zombie games from before the first RE debuted, after which we grouse about PS5 shortages, recoil at Yoko Taro's ideas for Monster Hunter, and hear about your favorite (if not fond) Blockbuster Video memories.

Resident Evil Village is out, and the rampantly fetishized Lady Dimitrescu joins the hallowed ranks of Resident Evil's iconic, nigh-indestructible "stalker" enemies. So let's kick off this week's show with five of the most memorable pursuers from Resident Evils past, and then invite PCMag.com's Mike Williams to tell us about his experience reviewing Village. Then we'll talk Returnal, get into sordid details from the Epic v. Apple lawsuit, and hear about your dream Mortal Kombat guest characters.

We've just passed two important Mortal Kombat milestones: the 10th anniversary of the franchise-revitalizing Mortal Kombat 9, and the release of a new MK movie that doesn't suck. To celebrate, Anthony Abatte joins us for a look at five of the best guest characters to show up for recent Kombats, after which we'll look at NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., Star Wars Pinball VR, and the most memorable demos you've ever played.

The formerly PlayStation-exclusive MLB The Show is now on Xbox, which is... kinda weird, right? Almost as weird as finding out that developers now closely associated with (and owned by) Sony used to make games for competing platforms, which is what we're delving into this week. Find out what studios like Guerrilla, Naughty Dog, and Sucker Punch were up to before becoming PlayStation mainstays, after which we'll take a look at Immortals Fenyx Rising - The Lost Gods, Sony reversing course on closing its old stores, and unique things about your hometowns.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to 2/3 of the VGA crew (along with a big chunk of the games industry), and it's been re-created in a handful of games over the years - so now that our episode count matches our area code, let's grab Tony Wilson of Framework and look at the five games we think did it best. Then we'll shift to Nintendo Indie World announcements, The Last of Us remake drama, and how closely you like your game movies to stick to the script.

Thankfully, we're well past the point where any unforgiving game gets compared to Dark Souls. What we're talking about this week, with special guest Leif Johnson, are our favorite Souls-likes - that is, games that consciously borrow parts of Dark Souls' formula (but aren't made by From Software). Then it's on to Outriders, Pac-Man 99, Borderlands movie news, and your favorite memories of the 3DS.

The 3DS turned 10 this week, so let's grab friend of the show Micah Seff and celebrate the revolutionary, unassailable, beloved powerhouse of a handheld... by looking back at five ways it nearly dropped the ball in its first few rocky, uncertain months. Then we'll get deep into Monster Hunter Rise, Magic Legends, Ghost of Tsushima movie news, and your favorite un-emulatable games.

There's something about the arcade experience that's just tough to capture at home - especially for games that involve ridiculously bespoke hardware that would be impractical to set up in a living room. This week, we welcome back Dan Amrich for a look at five of our favorite arcade games that just don't translate to a home setting, after which we'll touch on Balan Wonderworld, Immortals Fenyx Rising - Myths of the Eastern Realm, PlayStation Store axing three platforms (sort of), and the OG Xbox games or series you think are due for a comeback.

This week marks one year since the first shelter-in-place orders went into effect in the US. To mark this dubious occasion, we invited PNB's TL Foster on to talk about five of the best games ever to take place within a single house. Then it's on to the return of Stubbs the Zombie, the even-more-zombielike sort-of return of Toys 'R' Us, and your fondest Mario memories.

They may be gray and a little saggy, but there's a certain kind of elderly man who, like a lobster, only ever seems to grow bigger and tougher with age. This week, we invite Greg Moore to help us pay tribute to the old game characters who could still kick our asses, after which we'll dig into Loop Hero, the Bethesda-Microsoft merger, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, and the things from vidjagames you'd love to try in real life, but probably shouldn't.

If you haven't commandeered a car by jumping to it from your own speeding whip, can you really be said to have commandeered it at all? This week, we celebrate five games that let us accomplish the impossibly awesome feat of launching from one high-speed car to another, fluidly booting out the driver, and taking control. Then it's on to Ghosts 'n' Goblins Resurrection, Switch Pro rumors, Sony's State of Play, and the games that helped you through a year of lockdowns.

Everyone loves a good revenge story, so this week we're joined by Mike Williams of PCMag to take a look at five of the most gripping stories of single-minded, systematic payback produced by videogames. Then we'll explore Bravely Default 2, get lost in Persona 5 Strikers and Valheim, look at the news from BlizzCon, and hear your thoughts on series that should switch genre.

With Persona 5 Strikers - the Dynasty Warriors-flavored sequel to the original P5 RPG - out this week, we're joined by special guest Emmett Watkins of VGU.TV for a look at five sequels that switched to a new genre, forever changing the trajectory of their series. Then we'll dig into to Bowser's Fury, get stomped in Valheim, go through the Nintendo Direct news with a fine-toothed comb, and discuss the characters you'd want to see turn evil.

Abrupt heel-turns are always fun, especially in fighting games where a goody-two-shoes hero gives in to the Dark Power within and becomes a corrupted, evil version of themselves (usually with cooler moves). This week, we welcome Anthony Abatte to help us take a look at five fallen heroes of fighting games, after which we'll talk about Little Nightmares 2, casting HBO's The Last of Us, listen to some reconstructed Mario tunes, and hear about your parents' attitudes toward your gaming.

Los Angeles is the setting of roughly 500% of all motion pictures, and yet relatively few games have tried to turn its sun-baked sprawl into a game world. So this week, let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five games that turned the City of Angels into an open(-ish)-world playground, after which we'll dive into The Medium, EA Sports bringing back college football, Stadia shuttering its studios, and the games you think should be adapted as anime.

Train levels are a pretty well-worn trope by this point; start at the caboose and fight your way up to the engine, all in a linear, narrow environment that allows for some variety as you move from car to car. As frequently as we've seen these, some are a lot more memorable than others, and a few even do something unique with the idea. So let's look at five of our favorites this week, after which we'll look at Cyber Shadow, try to understand the GameStop stock situation (as of Wednesday), and talk about your favorite everyday items to use as weapons in games.

With the rebooted Hitman series hitting its third installment this week, we're joined by Tony Wilson of Framework for a look at three other franchises whose reboots were successful enough to spawn sequels and become new trilogies unto themselves. Then we dig into Hitman 3, talk about Mortal Kombat movie news, and look at the mostly dead gaming genres you'd love to bring back.

Ready to feel old? 2001 was a watershed year for videogames, with powerful 3D consoles and classic games that laid the groundwork for the modern era of gaming. It was also 20 years ago, meaning all those games are now two decades old. We've invited Larry Charles of Striking Distance Studios to help us through this sad realization by celebrating five unforgettable games from the now-distant past, after which we'll talk about Street Cleaner, the return of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game AND Lucasfilm Games, and your New Year's gaming resolutions for 2021.

We're back on our traditional yearly bullshit this week, kicking off the new year with a look forward at at five games we're especially excited for in 2021 (assuming they arrive this year). This is one of our shortest shows in years, but don't worry/get too comfortable, as we'll be back in full force next week.

It's the end of the worst year in recent memory, but a great year for games - so let's take one last look back and anoint our 10 favorites! Clocking in at just under 4 hours, this year's show features appearances from Jorge Albor, Kat Bailey, Chris "Cbake" Baker, TL Foster, Steve Guntli, Leif Johnson, Micah Seff, Tony Wilson, and Kayla Zumbaum. It's a veritable explodaganza of long discussions about amazing games, so join us as we fondly remember the best parts of the worst year!

We really wanted to go with a holiday theme for our last real show of 2020, but in the end, what's more appropriate to Holiday 2020 than grabbing Greg Moore for a look at how videogames have portrayed the collapse of brick-and-mortar retail? Then it's on to Super Meat Boy Forever, Nintendo's Year in Review, and your thoughts on playing games right at launch vs. waiting for bugs to get fixed.

2020 has been a terrible year for most things, but a stellar year for games - including a smattering of remakes that took a fresh look at old favorites. As we lead up to our big year-end show on the best games of 2020, we've grabbed PNB's TL Foster and given five amazing remakes that didn't fit in our top 10 their own show. Then it's on to plenty of Cyberpunk 2077 chatter, a few announcements and anointments from The Game Awards, and your preferences vis-a-vis dark or light futures.

Cyberpunk 2077 came out hours before we recorded this week's show, so we don't have a lot to say about it yet. Luckily, there are tons of cyberpunk videogames not named "Cyberpunk," so we grabbed Leif Johnson for a look at five of the greatest cyberpunk series of all time. Then it's on to (what else?) initial impressions of Cyberpunk 2077, a smattering of movie news, the Persona 5 Strikers reveal, and the games you feel will define the PS4 era.

This week, we pay overdue tribute to the passing of the PS4 era with help from Gamespot/LaserTime alum Tony Wilson who’s launching a new video channel called FrameWork, and who helps us look back on five of the best PS4 exclusives (all of which are still fully exclusive, and which came out pre-2020 so we don’t repeat ourselves on this year’s Game of the Year show). Then it’s on to Immortals Fenyx Rising, Chronos: Before the Ashes, Super Nintendo World opening soon, and the games you’d prefer to haunt for eternity.

With Ready Player Two out this week, we've decided to turn up the nostalgia dial to absurd levels by recruiting Greg Moore for a look at five videogames that, one way or another, were about nostalgia for videogames. Then it's on to some chat about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the holiday console-scalping epidemic, cloud gaming, and the open worlds you'd love to revisit.

We're coming back to the table this week with clearer impressions of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X - but first, let's take a look at five of the rare few open-world games that actually re-used their open worlds, with PNB's Kayla Zumbaum! Then we'll bite into Bugsnax, Demon's Souls, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, The Game Awards announcements, and your favorite third-party launch games.

IT'S NEW-CONSOLE WEEK! We're super-excited for the debut of the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, but before we get to those, let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five times third-party games swept in and stole the show in a new console's launch lineup! Then it's on to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, early Xbox Series X impressions, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Prodeus, and the arcade classics you'd like to see return as Arcade1up-style replicas.

As November begins and we're faced with the mystery of who our next President will be, it's as good a time as any to lose ourselves in the fictional mysteries of our favorite detective games with Octobug developer Eric Bailey. Then we talk about Sega selling off its arcade business, Arcade1up introducing its first sit-down driving cabinet, and the historical settings you'd like to see horror games in.

We're closing out Spooptober 2020 with the grimmest, bleakest topic we could think of: horror games set in, around, and within the (sometimes literal) fallout of the Soviet Union. With history buff Jeremy King of Tweakalicious.tv on board, we'll also dig into Watch Dogs: Legion, Ghostrunner, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, news from Nintendo's final Direct of 2020, and the politicians and celebs you'd like to see stream a game next.

High school is a breeding ground for all sorts of lifelong fears and anxieties, so of course it's a perfect setting for otherwordly terror. With friend of the show Micah Seff in attendance, we talk about five games that used locker-lined halls and impersonal classrooms to create scares, after which we talk about Torchlight III, Blizzard possibly moving away from RTS games, and your hometown cryptids and legends.

Our greatest Spooptober episode yet is here! The inimitable Alex Faciane of Chilluminati Podcast (among other things) joins us for a look at five real(ish) cryptids — creatures people swear they've seen but whose existence remains unconfirmed — that have made multiple videogame appearances over the years. Then it's on to a heated discussion of the Monster Hunter movie trailer, Sega's surprise 60th-anniversary games, and the classic Nintendo games you think should get the battle royale treatment.

Spooptober continues with a look at the Greek pantheon's gloomiest god, as Leif Johnson rejoins us to sift through some of Hades' more memorable videogame appearances. Then we shift to talking about Star Wars Squadrons, Crash 4, Super Mario Bros. 35, and Baldur's Gate III, before moving on to Sony's PS5 teardown video and your favorite zombie games with a twist.

It's the start of October, which means we're switching to horror-focused topics and bad Dracula impressions between now and Halloween! We're kicking things off with a look at five zombie games that - despite featuring the most cliched enemies imaginable - managed to stand out with unique gameplay hooks. Then it's on to Genshin Impact, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Peter Parker's new face, and your favorite memories of the 3DS.

Nintendo's 3DS is officially kaput, so this week we invite Ultra 64's Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski to help us celebrate nine stellar years of no-glasses 3D with a look at five of our favorite 3DS essentials. Then it's on to extensive chat about Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Hades, Microsoft acquiring Bethesda, a week of nonstop preorder clusterfucks, and your next-gen plans now that most of the cards are on the table.

With Spelunky 2 out this week, we're rejoined by Experience Points' Jorge Albor for a look at five games that started life as freeware projects before moving on to commercial success. Then it's on to PlayStation 5 news, Paradise Killer, Fight Crab, Ubisoft Forward's reveals, and whether the Xbox announcements changed your next-gen plans.

Everything we wanted to know about the new Xboxes - price, launch date, existence of the rumored Series S, and so on - has been revealed, but we're a little distracted by a certain limited-edition compilation with one glaring omission. So distracted that we're doing a whole Top 5 about games that mysteriously failed to make the cut when it came time to bundle and remaster their series, after which we'll get to the Xbox news as well as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1&2, the comics you'd want to turn into games, and much more.

Do you like collecting comics? Do you enjoy videogames? Do you insist that those two hobbies be about each other? Fiiiine. With Marvel's Avengers out this week, let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five games that used comic books as collectibles, after which we'll jump into Avengers, Vader Immortal, Madden NFL 21, Gamescom reveals, NVIDIA's new 30 series, and the toy lines you think deserve their own videogames.

Weeks like this are enough to make anyone want to retreat into childhood nostalgia - and we've delivered a brief chance to do exactly that, as Greg Moore joins us to talk about five games that let us play as toys from our childhoods. Then we'll talk Battletoads, confuse Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad, and hear your confessions about the dumbest things you've ordered during the pandemic.

With the US Postal Service currently under siege, now seemed like a good time to grab friend of the show Leif Johnson and pay tribute to some of gaming's greatest postal workers, who tirelessly deliver letters and packages that don't really exist across virtual worlds. Then we talk about seeing our houses from Microsoft Flight Simulator, get hard in Mortal Shell, touch the Apple-Epic fight with a 10-foot pole, and talk about your videogame animal phobias.

Shark Week is here at last, so we invited animal expert Cody Laveau on board for a look at five terrifying sharks who - rather than trying to eat you, as is custom - want nothing more than to be your friend. Then it's on to chat about Risk of Rain 2, Hyper Scape, The Xbox Series X controller leak, Sony's State of Play, and the price you're willing to pay for next-gen consoles.

Stray, the cat-centric game that made a brief splash during June's PlayStation 5 showcase (before being upstaged by Bugsnax), inspired us to hunt for other, currently existing games that offer a four-legged cat experience, and we'll dig into five of them this week alongside PNB's TL Foster. Then it's on to Fall Guys, news of streaming via Game Pass, and the games from at least two generations ago that you'd love to see remastered or remade.

Carrion slurped its way onto Xbox Game Pass last week, and its eat-everyone ethos inspired us to take a look at five other amazing games where you deal with enemies mainly by consuming them. Then it's on to (of course) Carrion, Destroy All Humans!, the reveals from the Xbox Series X Games Showcase and the Nintendo megaleak, and your thoughts on streaming media through next-gen consoles.

Something about the sight of crypto-fascist stormtroopers in ominous gasmasks will always stir contempt within the rebellious heart, and on this week's show, we celebrate the return of special guest Dan Amrich with a look at five games that pit you against the forces of a corrupt police state. Then it's on to (lots of) talk about Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario: The Origami King, the Nintendo Direct Mini, and your thoughts on whether we still need E3.

Ghost of Tsushima is out now, and its release seemed like a great excuse for us to grab friend of the show Greg Moore and count down five of our favorite samurai simulators. Then it's on to Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, Deadly Premonition 2, Ubisoft Forward reveals, and your favorite modern retro games.

This week's release of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 got us thinking about retro-styled games that often started out as companion pieces to bigger, more modern spectacles, but quickly became fan favorites and even enduring classics - so we grabbed Leif Johnson to talk about five of the best examples, after which we chat about Iron Man VR, get weirdly excited for Ready Player Two, and talk about the games you're most looking forward to in the latter half of 2020.

We're halfway through the worst year in recent memory - but as far as videogames go, it hasn't been half-bad. So this week, let's take a look back and pick our five favorite games from the past six months, with help from PNB's TL Foster. Then it's on to Pokémon Café Mix, Disco Elysium getting a movie deal, and your favorite Games of the (Half-)Year!

There are a lot of things The Last of Us Part II does well, but one thing it's particularly good at is simulating a guitar with a touchpad. As a tribute, we grabbed Jorge Albor of Experience Points for a look at some of the best in-game instruments (in non-musical games), after which we'll properly delve into The Last of Us Part II, as well as EA news, Mixer shutting down, and your favorite E3-ish announcements so far.

The Last of Us Part II is out! And some of the review discourse has (not surprisingly) been about how it makes you do bad things (and also tries to make you feel bad about those things). But that's nothing new! In fact, some of gaming's most memorable moments have been ones that guilted us about some horrific "decision," even if our only real choice was to push forward or stop playing. This week's show looks at five such moments, after which we'll talk PlayStation 5 news, Desperados III, and your favorite Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.

This week's show returns to the well from which all RPGs (and arguably all videogames) spring: Dungeons & Dragons. More specifically five of the best Dungeons & Dragons videogames, which we'll count down alongside Cicero Holmes of Rivals of Waterdeep and Discovery Debrief. Then it's on to news of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, 1Up's new arcade machines, and your favorite Game Gear Games. (And we'll dive into the PS5 reveal — which happened after we recorded — next week.)

This week's been one of the roughest in a rough year, and we couldn't bring ourselves to put together a normal videogame podcast as if nothing was happening. But canceling the show also felt weird, so instead, PNB's TL Foster joins us for a frank, lengthy discussion about police violence and race in America - after which, yes, we do bring it back to games, including Xenoblade Chronicles, Shantae and the Seven Sirens, Game Gear Micro, and your favorite memories of local arcades and game shops.

Where would RPG heroes be without the faithful merchants who keep them supplied with magic swords and healing potions? Dead in a ditch, that's where. This week, we grab Tyler Nagata for a look at five games that flip the script by making you a shopkeeper in someone else's heroic journey, after which we'll tunnel into Minecraft Dungeons and Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, get excited for Silent Hill's sort-of return, and hear about the athletes you'd pick to fight monsters.

This week, Vidjagame Apocalypse welcomes PNB's TL Foster for a good, long look at five times pro athletes starred in videogames that were more about punching monsters than playing sports. Then it's on to swimmer-munching shark nirvana in Maneater, excitement over Paper Mario: The Origami King, and the Schwarzenegger movies you thought were overdue for game adaptations.

This week's news of Arnold Schwarzenegger's return as Dutch Schaefer in Predator: Hunting Grounds has us just a little excited, so we roped in PNB's Kayla Zumbaum for a look at five of the best games ever to let you step into the Governator's shoes. We then wallow in a little more nostalgia with Pixel Ripped 1995, look to the future with Xbox Series X and PS5 news, and hear about the un-adapted Star Wars stories you'd like to see made into games.

Hang on, this episode isn't about Candy Crush. With Mother's Day imminent, we decided to flip genders on the concept of "dad games" - in which a father has to protect or rescue a child - and focus on moms doing the same thing (which turned out to be surprisingly rare in videogames). Then it's on to Streets of Rage 4, Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath expansion, and the games you took a year or more to play.

We've now officially done as many numbered episodes of this show as there are days in a (non-leap) year, so this week, we're looking at five games whose stories and gameplay are affected by changing seasons over (at least) an in-game year. Then it's onward to the reveal of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, impressions of XCOM Chimera Squad and Gears Tactics, and the games that made you give one of your favorite series a miss.

In this age of games arriving rapidly from Japan, it's easy to forget that localization used to take a long time - sometimes years. This week, Micah Seff of Perfect World joins us to take a look at games that took a decade or more to reach Western shores, after which we'll touch on Trials of Mana, Animal Crossing smashing sales records, and whether you prefer remakes or remasters.

Megacorporations have been popular villains lately, what with being behind the events of three (or four, depending on your feelings toward Tom Nook) major games in as many weeks. So with help from TL Foster of PNB, let's take a look at five of the most diabolical conglomerates to ever cackle maniacally at your insignificant rebellions, after which we'll dive headfirst into Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cooking Mama drama, and your all-time favorite intro sequences.

Sometimes, the first few minutes of a game are so memorable that they overshadow everything that comes after them, standing out as the first thing you remember about the game for years afterward. This week, we grab TL Foster for a rundown of five of our favorite opening sequences ever, after which we'll touch on Final Fantasy VII Remake, get deep into the Resident Evil 3 remake, and hear about the games you think are most overdue for remakes.

Remakes and remasters aren't just a modern-gaming phenomenon - far from it. They've been part of gaming since at least the '80s, and this week, we grab John Brandon of Square Roots to look back at five of our favorite remakes from the 16- and 32-bit eras. Then we'll dig into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, Panzer Dragoon Remake, Resident Evil 3, news of Mario and Nier remasters, and your gaming habits under quarantine.

This week’s VGA pays tribute to the world’s embattled health-care professionals the only way we know how: By talking about five games that let you play as one, with help from Leif Johnson of MacWorld. Then it’s onward to Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Half-Life: Alyx, and who you’re siding with in the next-gen console wars.

Half the world is on lockdown right now, and the only way through this mess is to band together... by staying separate. But sometimes there's power in isolation, and we're here to help you through it with five games that used themes of solitude and loneliness to tell unforgettable stories. Then we'll look at the recently unveiled details on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, spend some time on Nioh 2, and revisit the games from your childhood you keep coming back to.

Between the third season of the Netflix show and the mobile release of Symphony of the Night, it’s a good time to be a Castlevania fan – so to celebrate, we grabbed friend of the show Greg Moore for a look back at five of the best Castlevanias whose stars weren’t whip-wielding Belmonts. Then it’s time to dive into Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Call of Duty: Warzone, the most shocking E3 announcement in years, and your nominees for President and VP of videogames.

Super Tuesday left seemingly everyone angry about politics, so let's dedicate this week's show to the only politicians everyone can agree on: the absolute shithouse ones that pop up as major villains in videogames. With Alex Faciane - of Super Beard Bros, Chilluminati, and now Wunderling - on board, we lay into five soullessly ambitious lawmakers, after which we'll jump into the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo, The Division 2's Warlords of New York expansion, GDC getting postponed, and the anime you'd like to see turned into a videogame.

This week's release of One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows was precisely the shoddy excuse we needed to make like SNL's "J-Pop America Fun Time Now!" and geek out over anime, as we discuss 5 games you might not have known were made by anime creators. It was a topic too big for Matty and Chris to cover alone, so we enlisted the help of two very special guests this week: TL Foster of the PNB podcast network and first-time guest B_Ron of B_Ron Sports. Then we talk about this week's news and new releases, the Xbox Series X and Animal Crossing: New Horizons announcements and more!

Platinum Games is a studio known for extreme action and distinctive gameplay, so with Bayonetta and Vanquish out again as 10th Anniversary editions, let's take a look at some of the most unique gameplay hooks they've come up with, with help from Cicero Holmes of Rivals of Waterdeep. Then we'll briefly talk Maneater with Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson, get excited for Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun: Retro Brawler Bundle, and look at your favorite videogame couples.

Today is Valentine's Day, so let's take a look at some of gaming's most iconic couples, with help from Larry Charles of Striking Distance Studios. We then take a close look at Dreams, Geoff Keighley's departure from E3, and your favorite Black videogame heroes.

In honor of Black History Month, TL Foster joins us this week for a celebration of five of our favorite Black videogame heroes, all of whom took the spotlight in their own games and helped redefine what their franchises could be. Then it’s on to a look at The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics, a quick dip into GeForce Now, and your dark horse games of the decade.

It’s finally time to reveal our picks for the greatest games of the past 10 years! And because we chose the list purely based on our personal preferences, dismissing silly ideas like “importance” or “cultural impact,” we invited USGamer Editor in Chief Kat Bailey to lend some authenticity (and skepticism) to the proceedings before taking a look at your favorite games of the past 10 years.

Our march through the greatest games of the past 10 years continues this week, as Greg Moore rejoins us to run through five of Chris' personal picks ahead of next week's top 10. Then it's on to a look at Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Horizon: Zero Dawn PC rumors, and what E3 still means to you.

Our ongoing series on the greatest games of the 2010s continues! After covering five of Mikel’s picks last week, this week’s show focuses on five of Matt’s nominees, with Jorge Albor of Experience Points along for the ride. Then it’s on to Sony skipping E3, the Epic Games Store’s success, and the games you’re most looking forward to this year.

This isn't just our first show of the new year - it's our first show of a new decade! With that in mind, let's jump on the 2010s nostalgiawagon and count down our top 25 games of the previous decade, five games at a time. With TL Foster along to pass judgment, join us as we embark on a multi-episode series of Top 5s personally selected by each host (starting with Mikel's picks this week), eventually leading up to our definitive 10 games of the 2010s. And while we build toward that, let's take a look at some of your favorite games of 2019!

It's time for our seventh annual end-of-year show, in which we invite a rotating panel of guests to help us count down our top 10 games of the year! This year's show clocks in at just under 4 hours(!), and features appearances from Chris "Cbake" Baker, Carolyn Petit, Greg Moore, Steve Guntli, TL Foster, Leif Johnson, Kayla Zumbaum, and Jorge Albor! Join us, why don't you?

Here's a quick cheat sheet with timestamps, if you want to jump around and hear which games made the list:

0:04:10: #10 (w/ Leif Johnson, Jorge Albor)
0:18:51: #9 (Kayla Zumbaum, TL Foster
0:39:32: #8 (Leif Johnson, Jorge Albor)
1:05:21: #7 (Steve Guntli)
1:21:48: #6 (Greg Moore, TL Foster)
1:36:24: #5 (Chris Baker, Carolyn Petit)
1:56:40: #4 (Steve Guntli, John Brandon)
2:14:54: #3 (Just Chris, Matt, and Mikel)
2:34:18: #2 (Carolyn Petit)
2:56:32: #1 (Greg Moore, Steve Guntli, TL Foster)

Who says 2D's dead? The year-end cavalcade continues as we take a look at five of our favorite retro-styled games to arrive this year, with help from Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski of Ultra 64! Then it's on to Wattam, news from the Game Awards, a new Xbox, and your favorite new characters of 2019.

2019 has been a great year for new and original games, and it's introduced a ton of new characters to the gaming canon. This week, Leif Johnson of MacWorld.com joins us to talk about five (OK, six [OK, seven]) new characters whose antics this year left us wanting to see more. Then it's on to MechWarrior 5, SuperMash, Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play (we'll talk about the Game Awards next week), and the games that convinced you to get a PlayStation.

PlayStation turned 25 this week! To celebrate, we invited PNB Podcast's TL Foster and Kayla Zumbaum to join us for a dive into the past and a look at five much-loved PSOne exclusives that never made the jump to later generations. Then we'll take a quick look at Phoenix Point, get wistful about the return of Toys 'R' Us, and hear about the games you crowdfunded and loved.

Shenmue 3 is just the latest example of crowdfunding as a way to bring back series and genres long thought dead – or to create new ones. This week, Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski of Ultra 64 join us to look at five of the best games ever to be funded by crowds, after which we dip into Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts, take a closer look at Stadia and streaming in general, and find out which villains you’d like to play as, even if they still lose.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What’s a crowdfunded project you backed and absolutely loved?

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Theme song by Matthew Joseph Payne. Break song is Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe.

Prequels can be tricky. Fans already know what happens next, so if you wanted to tell the story of doomed heroes on an ill-fated mission, they might be able to guess how it ends before they even start playing. TL Foster of PNB Podcast joins us for a look at five games whose heroes you knew were fated to fail, after which we'll talk about Jedi: Fallen Order, Pokémon Sword and Shield, The Game Awards Nominees, Stadia's launch, and your least-favorite recent game design trends.

Question of the Week: If you could play through the villain's story in any game, knowing it would still end in defeat, who would you choose?

ALSO: Want to update your feed while we try to get our site working? Plug http://vidjagameapocalypse.libsyn.com or http://vidjagameapocalypse.libsyn.com/rss into your podcast app of choice!

This week, Jorge Albor of Experience Points Podcast returns as we take a look at five examples of a strange modern gaming trend: semi-interactive sequences that make you stagger, stumble, or crawl helplessly while dramatic things happen around you. We then take a deep dive into Death Stranding, breathe a sigh of relief at the Sonic movie redesign, and dig into your favorite oddball games.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What's a modern gaming trend that bugs you?

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Does Death Stranding really represent the arrival of a whole new game genre? To find out, we invited USGamer's Kat Bailey to tell us about the "strand" genre and to look back at five other games that defied any conventional genre definitions, becoming very much their own thing in the process. Then it's on to Death Stranding, Luigi's Mansion 3, BlizzCon news, and your favorite mundane stuff to do in games.

This week straddles the line between October and November, between Halloween and harvest season - and so does our show, with a look at five games that combine elements of farming and horror. Then it's onward to Outer Worlds and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, PlayStation Vue winding down, and your favorite villains.

Our final show before Halloween sends off October by tackling no less an evil than Satan himself, as we look at five of our favorite games that let you go toe-to-toe with the Devil. Things then get relaxing as we visit Eastshade, get excited about SUDA and SWERY joining forces, and shiver at the scariest games you've ever played.

Zombie hordes are a dime a dozen; chances to actually join them, less so. This week, GameXplain/IGN alum Micah Seff rejoins us to talk about games where a hero's demise turns them into flesh-hungry cannibals (at which point other heroes usually have to put them down). Then it's on to Disco Elysium, Ninja Saviors, Fortnite (briefly) disappearing into a black hole, and your scariest carnival stories.

Once-beloved children's entertainers are blazing nightmare fuel in videogames, where white makeup and red noses are all but synonymous with sadism and murder. While this week's Laser Time explores evil clowns in wider pop-culture, we're drilling down to find five of the most terrifying clowns ever to menace gamers. Then it's on to Indivisible, PlayStation 5 news, and your creepiest arcade experiences.

It’s our first show of October, and tradition dictates spooky content. So join us in welcoming Podouken cohost Adam, who’ll help us navigate through some of the most memorably fun horror-themed games ever to hit arcades. Then it’s on to Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Shawn Layden leaving Sony, and the classic game series you’d like to see get FMV offshoots.

Whether you think of them as "full-motion video," "FMV," or "a regrettable trend in game design," cheesy interactive movies once seemed poised to take over the game industry - and with the help of MacWorld's Leif Johnson, we brave stilted dialogue (and our own audio issues) to revisit five fondly remembered FMV games from the distant '90s. Then we bite into Apple Arcade's games, get charmed by Link's Awakening, and look at the dead consoles you want to return as "classic" versions.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening makes its adorable comeback this week, so with the help of not one, but two towering guests - Chris Baker and Brett Elston - we dig into five of the best Zelda games that unfolded somewhere other than Hyrule. Then it's on to Borderlands 3, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son, Dread Nautical, and the videogame music you made up your own lyrics for.

The Dreamcast, Sega's beloved but doomed final console, just turned 20 this week! To celebrate, Heidi Kemps of gaming.moe joins us for a look at five games that made the best use of the VMU, Dreamcast's memory card/second screen/handheld device. Then it's on to River City Girls, Gears 5, Apple Arcade news, and the long-lost platform exclusives that you think deserve a second chance.

Everyone loves hippies! Right? Or at least enough to put a few of them in videogames. This week, PNB Podcast's TL Foster returns for a look at some of the ways games have depicted counterculture dropouts, after which we'll dig into Astral Chain, Blair Witch, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, and a slew of other new releases, along with a ton of Nintendo Direct news and the games you'd like to see in hand-animated 2D.

Being a Disney animator used to mean you were among the world's best creators of hand-drawn, 2D animation - an art form that's fallen out of favor in Hollywood. Luckily, there have been a few times that Disney alums have lent their considerable skills to making 2D games, and we'll dive into five of the best. After that, we snap back to modernity with Control, Knights and Bikes, the apparent resurrection of Telltale, and your favorite bad and weird translations from videogames past.

Localization can be a touchy subject these days, but there was a time when it often meant turning a game into something completely different for foreign audiences. This week, we grab Greg Moore to talk about five classic games that changed completely during the move from Japan to the West, after which we'll talk about Remnant: From The Ashes, Rad, Death Stranding's Gamescom showing, and your favorite movies that influenced the game industry.

This week, we grab Diana Goodman for a high-speed detour to explore five '70s and '80s movies that had a profound influence on the early years of gaming, helping shape the then-new medium's aesthetics and defining its direction for decades to come. Then we dig into No Man's Sky Beyond, rumors of SNES games on Switch, and the games you had to cheat to beat.

Cheat codes may largely be a thing of the past, but this week, we'll look at five cheat codes that became important and iconic enough to earn a place in gaming history - and even to influence its course. Things then take two distinct political turns: first, we dig into piloting a presidential mech in Metal Wolf Chaos XD. Then, we talk about a different President trying to turn games into a political punching bag, after which we wrap things up by talking about your favorite developer workarounds to behind-the-scenes issues in videogames.

We’re at the tail end of another Shark Week, so let’s capitalize on it by grabbing animal expert Cody Laveau, and taking a look at five games that use sharks to keep you from testing their waters. Then we’ll bite into Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and what the kids would be like if you shipped any two game characters.

When Mikel's away, the kids will play. Speaking of kids... This week, Matty and Chris are joined by TL Foster to talk all about games that let you play as the kids of some of your favorite videogame heroes. Then we talk Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, the new Nintendo Switch, the Gears 5 beta, and more!

Some game series run out of ideas and/or steam by their third installment; others hit their stride and shine like never before. With help from GameXplain/IGN alum Micah Seff, we'll explore that latter group, after which we'll dig into Dragon Quest Builders 2, Blazing Chrome, and your strongest arcade memories.

Hey kids, remember the '80s? These games sure as hell do, and they want you to know it. With help from MacWorld's Leif Johnson, we dedicate this week to a look at five modern games that recaptured the neon spirit of the Reagan Years, after which we jump into Stranger Things 3: The Game, Switch Lite news, and your favorite videogame revolutionaries.

As we head into another 4th of July weekend, we're joined by veteran writer/editor/videogame person Carolyn Petit (formerly of GameSpot and Feminist Frequency) for a look at five of the greatest games that let you lead your own revolution. Then it's on to Mario Maker 2, My Friend Pedro, and your personal games of the year so far.

The year's half-over, and that means that - with help from USGamer Editor in Chief Kat Bailey - it's time to look back at the past six months and lift up five games as our must-play picks for the first half of the year. Then we tackle Judgment, The Sinking City, Elden Ring news, and the E3 games that got you most excited.

We're back with a full episode full of reactions to E3 news - but first, strap in for a Father's Day-inspired rundown of some of gaming's greatest DILFs, with special guest Alaina Yee. Then it's on to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Cadence of Hyrule, Collection of Mana, and the western devs you want to see tackle Japanese franchises.

E3 made a big splash this week, but we were too busy actually being there to record a show about it. We'll be back with E3 impressions next week; in the meantime, please accept this short, Top 5-only show we recorded earlier, in which Mikel, Chris, and Matt look at five games that far exceeded our expectations this year (or just suddenly appeared with zero build-up to knock our socks off).

When a Japanese developer wants to dig up a long-abandoned franchise and market it to westerners, one common tactic is to outsource it to a western developer. Sometimes, especially in the 2000s, this came with a mandate to make the series relevant to gamers looking for some hard-boiled nihilism, and the results stand as monuments to a strange era of gaming defined mostly by Grand Theft Auto making piles of cash. With help from PNB Podcast's TL Foster, let's look at five of the grittiest reboots of (already gritty) Japanese classics, after which we'll blast off to Outer Wilds and Void Bastards, catch some Pokémon news, and look at the features you wish more games would copy.

Games crib from each other all the time, but sometimes, a new gameplay idea can be a huge hit with fans and still be widely ignored by the industry. With help from John Brandon of Square Roots Podcast, we'll dig into five of our favorite series with unique features that have yet to be (widely) swiped by other games, and then we'll immerse ourselves in Blood & Truth, get cranky about Playdate, and look at the universes you wish were secretly connected.

Games tend to live in their own conveniently isolated universes, where the rules are different and only one hero's journey can unfold at a time - but sometimes hidden webs of connective tissue link seemingly separate franchises. With help from Heidi Kemps of gaming.moe, we disentangle five of those webs this week, before getting absorbed by A Plague Tale, George R.R. Martin's foray into game development, and your predictions (some wrong, some right) for the Game of Thrones finale.

When wrestlers become actors, the results tend to be either wonderful or laughable - and wrestlers who act in video games are no exception. This week, Larry Niece of Pody Slam! joins us for a look at five standout performances by wrestlers in non-wrestling games, after which we jump headfirst into Rage 2, the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection on Xbox One, the Final Fantasy VII remake, and the water levels that got you good and stressed.

Underwater levels have a long history of being terrible, but underwater games? Those are something special. This week, we welcome special guest Cicero Holmes of Spawn On Me and Discovery Debrief as we dive into five of our favorite undersea adventures, after which we chat about Shakedown Hawaii, (more) Days Gone, Microsoft's trash-talk guidelines, and the games you love in spite of other people reviling them.

Last weekend, nerd culture was rocked by two huge battles on the big screen and the small one (we're talking about Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones, naturally), so with help from PNB Podcast's TL Foster, let's dive into five times video games made you feel like you were in the middle of a massive, chaotic conflict. Then we shift gears to talk about Days Gone, join the endless chorus giggling at the Sonic movie, and look at the comics and comic storylines you'd like to make into games.

Avengers Endgame is in theaters this week! What does that have to do with videogames? Plenty, because even if there's no official tie-in game, Marvel's Thanos/Infinity Stone arcs have been fueling games since the '90s. With help from two very special Chrises - Comics on Consoles' Chris Clow, and game-industry legend/Operencia writer Chris Baker - we dig into five games that trace their origins back to The Infinity Gauntlet, after which we wade through gore in Mortal Kombat 11 and Katana Zero, wax nostalgic over the discovery of a secret City of Heroes server, and dig into the classic Capcom games you'd buy a logo-shaped retro console for.

We don't usually let real-world tragedy make it into VGA, but the destruction at Notre Dame hit hard for us - and with medieval scholar (and Macworld editor) Leif Johnson joining us this week, we took the opportunity to honor Paris' most iconic cathedral with five games that let you explore meticulous digital versions of it. Then it's on to World War Z, details on the next PlayStation, Capcom's logo-shaped Home Arcade retro console, and the final sendoffs you'd give beloved characters.

Game of Thrones is back this weekend, and if you don't watch it, too bad! This week starts off with the Top 5 Game of Thrones games, with help from Thirty Twenty Ten's Diana Goodman, so expect a healthy amount of show- and book-related banter thrown in. After that, we switch gears and talk about Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, Mario and Link dabbling in VR, and the best April Fool's jokes you've pulled and/or fallen for.

Another April Fool's Day is behind us, and this year brought a few fun, playable surprises our way, either showing up in familiar games or rolling out as entirely new ones. With PC Gamer's Tyler Wilde in attendance, let's take a look at some of 2019's best playable April Fool's "jokes," after which we'll dig into the Borderlands 3 reveal, the Genesis Mini, and the game characters you'd like to play as in their twilight years.

With Mortal Kombat 11 revealing the return of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as (old) Shang Tsung, Jorge Albor of Experience Points rejoins us this week to talk about videogame heroes who've aged dramatically over the years, going from young rookies to old pros in the span of a series. Then it's on to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, rumors of new Switches, and your thoughts on Stadia.

With GDC in full swing this week, the core VGA cast assembles for a look at games that let you make their worlds visibly worse, twisting the landscape through your own misdeeds, apathy, or sheer force of personality. We then spend a lot of time talking about Google's Stadia announcement, Cadence of Hyrule, the Oculus Rift S, and your favorite videogame re-creations of real-world landmarks.

With The Division 2 taking players to Washington, D.C., this week, we roped in Gamesradar+'s own Lucas Sullivan for a look at five other games that challenge you to literally fight for control of the White House. Then we switch gears to talk about Devil May Cry 5, The Division 2, Baba is You, another publisher dropping out of E3, and the franchises you think are in dire need of a reboot.

Reboots happen pretty frequently in entertainment; what's much rarer is the "reboot" that later gets pushed aside so the original story can continue. This week, we'll look at five of the best, with help from erstwhile VGA co-founder and studio namesake Tyler Wilde, of PC Gamer. Then we'll talk about Ape Out, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove, Sonic's movie redesign, and your dream videogame mashups.

Competing game publishers don't often let their characters out to play with each other, but when they do, the results are usually fun. This week, we celebrate five surprising crossover cameos in third-party games, with help from friend of the show Tyler Nagata, after which we'll dig into Reggie Fils-Amie leaving Nintendo, rumors of Xbox Game Pass coming to Switch, and the worst endings you've ever seen.

When a game's "bad" ending becomes the canonical one, interesting possibilities arise as its world and heroes continue to unravel. MacWorld's Leif Johnson joins us this week to look at five sequels shaped by downer endings, after which we'll plunge straight into Tetris 99, Metro Exodus, Crackdown 3, Far Cry New Dawn, Anthem, and your all-time favorite videogame romances.

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone, so let's bury it in style with a look at five of the best romances from BioWare games, as chosen by guest star Kayla Zumbaum of PNB Podcast. Things then take an apocalyptic turn as we dig into Far Cry New Dawn, this week's meaty Nintendo Direct, and your favorite videogame simians.

Hope everyone had a happy Lunar New Year! To celebrate, we roped in friend of the show Heidi Kemps to help us dig into five games based on one of our favorite works of Chinese fiction, Journey to the West (aka Monkey, aka Saiyuki). Then we chat about Wargroove, Apex Legends, Etrian Odyssey Nexus, a VR sequel to Groundhog Day, and your nominees for the best years in gaming.

This week, we'll look at five games that gave us a single-serving protagonist, who stuck around just long enough to show us the ropes before stepping aside to make way for the real hero. Then, friend of the show TL Foster joins for an extended chat about Kingdom Hearts III, the Resident Evil 2 remake, Metroid Prime 4 switching developers, and your favorite Resident Evil/Kingdom Hearts (chains of) memories.

Wow! We somehow made it to 300 episodes! In keeping with tradition, we do away with our usual format this week and grab friends of the show Brett Elston and Dan Amrich for a heated roundtable discussion to pick the best years in gaming history. Will your favorites come out on top? Will anyone be happy with the results? Is this just five old guys getting nostalgic about games? The answers may or may not surprise you!

When long-running franchises mix it up by swapping in a different protagonist every game, it can be a rare thrill to watch your hero cross paths with their fondly remembered predecessors, for better or worse. We take a look at five of our favorite such moments this week, along with the Resident Evil 2 demo, the Pinkertons suing Rockstar, the dead franchises you want to see rise from the grave, and more!

With Onimusha and No More Heroes poised for a long-overdue imminent return next week, we spend this week’s show looking back on once-massive game franchises that have been silent for years, with help from returning guest Micah Seff. Then it’s on to New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, the latest shot fired in the Epic/Steam war, your most anticipated games of 2019, and more!

The first week of January is always a slow one, making it an ideal time to reflect on some of the games we're most excited to play in the next 12 months, with help from MacWorld's Leif Johnson. For good measure, we throw in some chat about Atlas, Monster Hunter World's crossover with Assassin's Creed Origins, and your personal games of the year.

Welcome to our sixth annual end-of-year roundup, when we gather together a bunch of games-industry guests and count down our favorite games of the year. This year's show is one of our biggest yet, weighting in at a hefty 3.5 hours and featuring appearances from Brett Elston, US Gamer's Kat Bailey and Mike Williams, MacWorld's Leif Johnson, Experience Points' Jorge Albor, Ubisoft News' Youssef Maguid, Anthony Acosta, and Thirty Twenty Ten's Diana Goodman.

Next week, we'll count down our picks for the top games of 2018 - but our rules exclude remakes and remasters, and it's been an amazing year for those. So with help from USGamer's Nadia Oxford, we're dedicating this week to five of 2018's most impressive remakes, all of which brought long-dead classics roaring back with current-gen polish. We then talk Below, year-in-review games-industry stats, and the expectations-vs.-reality of your holiday toy memories.

With the holidays looming large and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tying up everyone's Switches, GameXplain/IGN alum Micah Seff helps us celebrate by talking about five iconic killer toys that come to life and try to murder people. (It makes sense in context, we swear.) We then switch gears to talk Smash, Ashen, Earth Defense Force 5, Hades, The Game Awards, your favorite obscure game-music tracks, and a whole lot of other stuff in a nearly three-hour megashow!

Headphones are recommended for this week's show, in which VGMpire's own Brett Elston rejoins us to help pay tribute to mind-blowing music from unspectacular games. After that, we move on to Just Cause 4, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, Epic's new game store, the swag you scored during Black Friday, and much more.

The holiday season is officially upon us, which means that for one reason or another, a lot of you are statistically likely to get loaded over the next few weeks. If you'd rather watch a game character get sloshed on adult beverages, there are plenty of games that'll let you get your hero drunk - and with help from MacWorld's Leif Johnson, we'll look at five of the most interesting. Then it's on to talking about Darksiders III, Sony opting for PAL versions on the PlayStation Classic, Console Wars getting adapted as a series, and the times games caused friction with family or friends.

Happy Black Friday! We understand a lot of you might be spending time with family over the long weekend - and sometimes, that time can start to feel like a pressure cooker. Why not blow off some steam by listening to us talk about five of the most absurdly dysfunctional families in gaming, with special guest Alaina Yee of PCWorld? Stick around after, because we'll jump into a lengthy chat about Black Friday deals, Fallout 76's launch, Devil May Cry Netflix news, and your favorite Stan Lee characters.

This week saw the passing of a true legend: the comics-creating, cameo-crushing alliteration aficionado known as Stan Lee. Marvel superfan Chris Baker rejoins us to celebrate Stan's legacy with a look at his greatest videogame cameos, after which we'll get into Hitman 2, the Detective Pikachu trailer, The Game Awards nominees, and the game characters you'd elect to office.

Have election-week nerves left you wishing you could simply rule with the absolute power of a despotic tyrant? Well, tough, but we've got Tim Turi on and we're talking about our five favorite playable kings, so that's something. We also get in some chatter about Deltarune, BlizzCon, and the games that took a while to really win you over.

If you've played it, you know Red Dead Redemption 2 gets off to a dramatically slow start - but in that, it's hardly alone. This week, Scott Butterworth rejoins us to look at five other games that made players wait to get to the good stuff, but ended up great anyway. And once that's done, we'll dive into our initial Red Dead impressions, the PlayStation Classic lineup, and your ideal weapons for facing down undead hordes in the Old West.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is out today, and if you're looking at this instead of playing it, it's probably safe to consider yourself our #1 fan. You're also about to hear us talk about five classic, horror-tinged games set in the wild west, with help from MacWorld editor/genuine Texan Leif Johnson. After our dual homage to Halloween and Red Dead, we'll touch on Return of the Obra Dinn, Soulcalibur VI, Fallout 76 bug warnings, and the console startup sounds of your dreams.

Pair an unstoppable hunter with one of the most threatening power tools ever devised, and you've got a recipe for sheer terror. This week, Jorge Albor of EXP Podcast joins us to talk about hulking, chainsaw-wielding badasses who chased us through classic horror games, after which we talk Starlink: Battle for Atlas, more WWE 2K19, Red Dead Redemption 2's crunch hours, and your most beloved monster protagonists.

As any toddler can tell you, nothing is more terrifying than a skeleton - except, of course, if they're on your side. And with MediEvil turning 20(!) this week, Josh Shoup (of wrestling-history podcast Pody Slam, among others) joins to help dedicate our first Halloween-themed episode of 2018 to skeletons who saved the day. We then touch on WWE 2K19, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, and Zelda's "easy mode" before taking a look at your favorite narrative-focused games.

Telltale Games may be gone, but it lives on through its legacy of redefining how games told stories, and through our memories of those stories themselves. This week, special guest and former Telltale employee Scott Butterworth joins us to celebrate the studio. And what better way to do so than by counting down our top 5 favorite moments from Telltale’s library? From Batman to The Wolf Among Us, and everything in between, we recall the moments that showed why nobody could -- er -- tell a tale, quite like Telltale. And we'll just go ahead and say it now: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT on many of the best moments from these games, so consider yourself warned!

Then it’s on to perhaps our biggest New Releases segment of the year, as we give our impressions of all of the amazing games we’ve been playing lately, including Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Mega Man 11, Forza Horizon 4, Fist of the North Star, Life Is Strange 2, and more!

Not everyone can swing a lightsaber and use the Force, and this week, the legendary Chris Baker joins us to talk about five Star Wars games whose heroes got by with little more than blasters and sheer grit. Then it's on to chat about Valkyria Chronicles 4, Telltale's surprise shutdown, and your favorite celebrity performances in games.

This month saw the passing of Burt Reynolds, a man who was no stranger to popping up in video games - and in his honor, we decided to spend this week's Top 5 looking at other celebrities who briefly played digital versions of themselves. Then we move on to talk about Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Nintendo's online service, and your favorite re-creations of real-world cities.

Spider-Man's still on our minds this week, and its beautiful re-creation of Manhattan made us nostalgic about other open-world games that re-created New York City's central island. Comics expert Chris Clow, of Comics on Consoles, joins as we talk about five of our favorites, and then we'll talk even more about Spider-Man, Dragon Quest XI, and your ideal superhero personas.

Spider-Man is out on PS4 at last, so this week we're joined by USgamer's Mike Williams, here to talk about his 4.5/5 review. We keep the theme going with a Top 5 about superhero games that weren't based on comics, talk about The Messenger and Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, and finish with the games that helped you get through your school years.

To mark the end of August and any lingering summer vacations, this week's show takes a look at five games set largely in schools (just in case you thought games were any escape). What's more, we're expanding our scope this week to talk about new releases and news, including Donut County and Gamescom impressions, and then we'll finally look at your ideal in-game tropical getaways and favorite starter weapons.

Tons of games load you down with an arsenal's worth of guns and gadgets, but sometimes, it's the one essential tool or weapon you get right from the start that turns out to be the most fun and effective thing in the game. This week, John Brandon of Square Roots Podcast drops by to chat about five of our favorite starter items, each of which would have been enough to carry us through their games if it came down to it.

Summer isn’t over quite yet, so the VGA boys are packing up their board shorts and Hawaiian shirts and taking a vacation to some of our favorite digital destinations -- of the tropical variety, that is. This week, Mikel, Matt, and Chris are joined by returning guest Tim Turi to talk about our favorite vidjagames that take place on and around tropical islands.

Meeting a shark in a game isn't all that uncommon - but when they're full-on bosses, you're probably in for something terrifying. This week, animal expert and LaserTime community superstar Cody "CajunCrippler" Laveau joins us to talk about five of the biggest, baddest shark bosses ever to swim the digital oceans, after which we'll take a look at your favorite in-game currencies and cheat codes.

When some new innovation helps turn a game into a big hit, it tends to spread across the industry like wildfire. Sometimes, these trends stick around to form part of the familiar patchwork of modern vidjagames. We're not talking about THOSE trends, however; this week, Trav "TurboBison" Foster joins Matt and Mikel for a chat about design ideas that were once widely mimicked, but now functionally dead.

This week's show is short by our standards, but don't worry - every entry in our Top 5 is a treasure. Specifically, each one is a boss themed around treasure, and Trav "TurboBison" Foster joins Mikel, Matt, and Chris to talk about these bizarre demons that flaunt their wealth like we're not about to just take it from them. And don't worry - we'll talk about the side characters you'd want to star in their own games before the hour's up.

In the past weeks, we've seen a few once-minor characters getting their own star turns, from Captain Toad to Far Cry 5's Nick Rye. Of course, side characters getting their own games is nothing new, and with help from Heidi Kemps, we'll look at five shining examples of sidekicks, villains, and supporting castmembers who got their own games.

This week, Dan Amrich returns to the show to talk us through something dear to his arcade historian's heart: a deep dive into pinball games based on popular video games (some of which actually play something like their digital counterparts), after which we'll take a look at your favorite Mario games ever.

The recent release of Runner3 reminded us of a strange truth: Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario, has had a long and successful career outside of voicing Nintendo's favorite plumber. And with help from Alaina Yee, we'll touch on some of his more memorable, non-Nintendo roles, and then take a look at your favorite games of the year (so far)!

It's the end of June, which means it's time to sit down and take a hard look at the games that came out over the past six months, and pick our five favorites from the madding crowd. Jorge Albor of rival podcast Experience Points joins us to chat about the games that stole our hearts, plus we'll look at your favorite announcements from E3! (Oh, and uhhh Mikel's back, I guess?)

Since nobody else is doing them, and we know how starved you all must be for E3 2018 content, it’s a good thing we’re here with our annual Best of E3 show. We’re doing things a little differently this year. Matty Allen, Chris Antista, TL “TurboBison” Foster, and first-time guest Marcus “Annoyed Gamer” Beer have chosen their top 5 games of the show, but we’ve also gathered votes from YOU the fans at the Official Laser Time Facebook Community. We threw all of the results together, mixed them up a bit, sprinkled in some hot takes, and are here to present the official list of the Vidjagame Apocalypse Top 5 Games of E3 2018. Enjoy!

By the time you listen this episode, E3 2018 will have come and gone, and we’ll all know a heck of a lot more about this year’s upcoming game releases. That includes one of the biggest games of the year: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate! One of this week’s most exciting reveals about the game was that it will feature every fighter ever included in Nintendo’s brawler series, which fits perfectly with the theme of this week’s show. Trav “TurboBison” Foster joins Matty Allen and Chris Antista to discuss five of the most obscure playable characters to ever appear in a Smash Bros. game.

E3 2018 is upon us, and even though the show technically doesn’t start until next week, the hype train has already left the station with a payload full of leaks and new game announcements. But not every game announced at E3 sees the light of day. On this week’s show, Matty Allen, Chris Antista, and special guest Dylan Tierney discuss five of the biggest games announced at E3 that were eventually cancelled.

What do the new God of War and the YouTube Red series Cobra Kai have in common, other than the fact that they both feature leads with anger management issues? They’re both new entries in franchises we thought we’d moved on from, yet turned out way better than we could’ve hoped -- or even asked for, for that matter. The comeback success of these two dormant franchises got us thinking about some other gaming franchises that came back seemingly from out of nowhere to re-establish themselves as heavy hitters. On this week’s show, Alaina Yee joins Matty Allen and Chris to look at the top 5 comebacks in vidjagames.

Things get technical in this week’s episode of Vidjagame Apocalypse as Chris and Matty Allen are joined by USGamer.net Editor in Chief Kat Bailey to discuss the top 5 androids in videogames. Inspired by the release of David Cage and Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human, we explore the Uncanny Valley, ponder what it means to be human, and try to figure out why dudes in games seem so thirsty for any robot that displays even a hint of anything feminine.

Question of the Week:

What is your favorite pop culture android?

Surprise! We just couldn’t stay away, and while Mikel continues to enjoy his (well-deserved) sabbatical, Chris, Matty Allen, and special guest Trav “TurboBison” Foster are here with a bonus edition of Vidjagame Apocalypse. Prior to his break, Mikel suggested a topic tied to the Nintendo Labo that we couldn’t resist covering: the Weirdest Nintendo Peripherals of All Time! So stop fiddling around with that Labo piano and strap on your incredibly uncomfortable wearable gaming devices, grab your trusty light gun, and join us as we look back at the top 5 times Nintendo let its freak flag fly!

This is it, folks - VGA is going on hiatus, and we've cooked up a hell of an episode to tide you over until we come back. In addition to Chris and Mikel, we've assembled Brett Elston, Dan Amrich, Anne Lewis, and Tyler Wilde to tackle a forbidden subject from our distant pasts, one we swore we'd never do: a list of the greatest barrels ever. What dark forces will be unleashed by assembling such a strong panel for such an inane discussion? Find out, and then stick around as we look at your favorite VGA episodes and maybe pack in a surprise or two.

God of War is out this week, taking jaded Greek hipster Kratos on a spree of cultural appropriation through Scandinavia (or something like that). To celebrate the series' by-all-accounts amazing rebirth, Matthew Allen and Alaina Yee help us dedicate this week's show to five other games that draw heavy inspiration from Norse mythology, complete with one-eyed gods, Valkyries, and battles at the end of everything.

Who doesn't like to hear a villain sing about themselves and their evil plans? It's a time-honored tradition, dating back to some really old thing or other, but it's a more recent phenomenon in video games. So this week, special guests Alaina Yee and Matthew Allen join to help us count down five - count 'em, five! - of our favorite singing bad guys.

Ready Player One is in theaters this week, and whatever you think of it, the core idea of being rewarded with actual riches for doing something in a game is a powerful one. So powerful, in fact, that it's been done several times in real life. So with help from Matthew Allen and Nathan Ortega, let's spend this short-form episode diving into five games that were sold on the promise of fantastic rewards for in-game skills.

Big news this week - VGA is going on hiatus at the end of April. But we've got plenty of shows still to go, starting with this week's, in which Heidi Kemps and Matthew Allen help us look at five Japanese games that never made it out of Japan, despite their series being popular over here. Then it's on to Sea of Thieves, Attack on Titan 2, Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered, PUBG mobile, and the games that caused controversy in your own lives.

Last week saw a return to the bad old days of video games as a whipping boy in the national debate over violent crime, and that brought some weird old memories rushing back - so many, in fact, that we decided to drag special guests Nick Suttner and Matthew Allen into an unexpectedly heavy discussion of five of the most controversial, moral panic-inducing games of the past 30 years. We also take the time to chat about Burnout Paradise Remastered, last week's Nintendo Direct, and the games you discovered thanks to monthly freebies from PlayStation Plus and others.

Plenty of games let you play as multiple heroes, but how many have you switching back and forth between heroes that seriously have it in for each other, pushing you to work against yourself as your perspective shifts? A whole bunch, as it turns out, so this week we'll look at five of our favorites, with help from Matthew Allen. Then it's on to idle chatter about Far Cry Arcade, the return of Fear Effect and Drake of the 99 Dragons, and your favorite chill-out games.

This week's big release is Moss, a VR game about a tiny mouse on a quest - so with help from Macworld editor Leif Johnson, let's take a look at five classic games in which you're a tiny creature trying to survive in a regular-sized world. Then we chat about hidden messages in Metal Gear Survive, get a little crestfallen for Chrono Trigger, and look at your favorite videogame dogs.

The Lunar New Year has declared this the Year of the Dog, so let's celebrate with a Top 5 about our favorite dog protagonists (dogtagonists?) with Matthew Allen! We then slip through a wormhole and wind up in a Metal Gear Survive discussion, consider the looming possibility of a Sonic the Hedgehog film, and talk about the songs and other media that will always be tied to certain games in your memory.

VGA's five-year anniversary was last week, so Henry Gilbert joins us for a belated Top 5 about some of the greatest fifth entries in game franchises ever. We also chat about Dynasty Warriors 9 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Kingdom Hearts 3, and your same-sex waifus and husbandos.

VGA passes its five-year anniversary with a cough-filled, Shadow of the Colossus-themed episode, in which Matthew Allen joins us to talk about five games that took clear inspiration from Sony's classic (and now re-released) giant-killer. We then move on to talking about Toad's disgusting head, PUBG's anti-cheating measures, and the games you wish you could erase from your memory and re-experience.

Happy Groundhog Day, everybody! This week, Nathan Ortega and Aziz Twaijri join us to talk about heroes stuck in recurring time loops, struggling to change events in a bid to escape their fates. We also shift our format around slightly to talk about new releases at the top of the show, then go on for too long about rumors of Microsoft buyouts before looking at your favorite fighting-game moves ever.

Of course we're gonna yell about Labo, but we've also played Dragonball Fighters Z, SOS, the new OK KO game, and special guest Bob Mackey has played over sixty hours of Monster Hunter Worlds!

Street Fighter V Arcade Edition is out this week, so our old pal Brett "Brelston" Elston returns to help us talk about it and five fighting games that had some really bizarre side modes built in. We then move on to Sims doing laundry, Gravity Rush 2's online features getting a stay of execution, and the licensed games you'd like to see make a comeback.

With Awesome Games Done Quick tearing through mesmerizing speedruns for charity this week, Matthew Allen and Bob Mackey join us to take a look at five games that you can play and beat (or "beat") in 15 minutes or less - all without any cheating, glitching, or practicing to develop any special skills whatsoever. Then we briefly look at a few meaty Switch ports, get surprised by PSN's top 2017 downloads, and find out which games you played over the holidays.

We're back and ready to take on a new year, as community member and industry veteran Matthew Allen joins us to look ahead and count down five of the games we're looking forward to the most in 2018. Then it's on to talk about the first registered N-Gage speedrun, Microsoft discontinuing the Kinect adapter, and your own most-awaited games due (hopefully) in the next 12 months.

It's time at last for our fifth annual countdown of our favorite games of the year, and this one's a whopper. Clocking in at nearly 3 1/2 hours, this episode's rotating cast of guest hosts includes Tim Turi, Brett Elston, Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Matthew Jay, who drop in to give their own two cents on our picks until we finally close it out with a look at some of your GOTYs.

This is our second-to-last show of 2017, which means it's our last chance to do something holiday-themed - so as the legendary Tim Turi joins us, let's take a look at five of the angriest, most threatening takes on Santa to ever appear in video games. Then we chat about the (re)return of Okami, news from the Game Awards, and the game-inspired cereals of your dreams.

As 2017 and its new releases begin to wind down, Henry Gilbert rejoins us to start this week's show with a topic that we somehow didn't think to do until a listener suggested it: video games that your character can play within larger video games. (We went for original ones, too, so don't be disappointed if your Yakuzas or Animal Crossings don't make an appearance.) We then flop over to the Mega Man 11 reveal, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle's Versus mode, Mario's new cereal, and the exclusive games you'd want Nintendo to steal for the Switch.

Mikel isn't here this week, and it's probably because he's playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on iOS. To commemorate that, we recount the five most important Nintendo franchises that came to other platforms with the help of special guests Matthew Jay and Wes Green. After that, we discuss a dearth of game deals, a bit of PUBG news, Battle Chef Brigade, your best bargains, and our pie-in-the-sky Switch ports!

Happy Black Friday, everybody! Since we just moved past Thanksgiving, we're focusing this week on the last thing you probably want to think about right now: more food, this time in the form of our favorite food-themed levels. Joining us once again is PCWorld Reviews Editor Alaina Yee, who also brought a ton of Black Friday deals to this week's game-deals segment, and we also touch on Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, which console won the fall sales race, and your favorite Wii U games.

The Wii U turns 5 this week, about a year after Nintendo first moved to pull the plug on its short-lived system. Oh, but what a short life it was! To celebrate it, we're joined once again by Bob Mackey as we count down a list of our five favorite Wii U games. Then, we talk about Star Wars Battlefront 2, the mysterious reappearance of L.A. Noire, loot boxes, Ninja Turtles in Injustice 2, and the games in which you'd love to create a character.

With Sonic Forces fulfilling countless [Your Name] the Hedgehog fantasies with its character creator this week, erstwhile host Henry Gilbert helps us focus our Top 5 on five other games that let you squeeze a version of yourself into an established universe and battle alongside - or against - its heroes. Then it's time to shift gears and talk about Call of Duty: WWII, Sonic Forces, Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds, the Xbox One X launch, Sony's Trophy-based discounts, awful Bubsy puns, and the forgotten mascots you'd drag back from oblivion.

Microsoft ended production of Kinect last week, dealing a final blow to the ill-fated camera peripheral, so we're dedicating today's Top 5 to a look back at five of its best games, with help from PCWorld Reviews Editor Alaina Yee. We then tear into a long list of new releases including Super Mario Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Origins, Wolfenstein II, Dead Hungry, and Bubsy (which sharp-eared listeners can win a code for), after which we look at Sony's Paris Games Week and the video game characters you'd dress as for Halloween.

This is the biggest release week of the year - big enough, in fact, to hold two separate games that feature Egyptian mummies as plot points. So with help from Matthew Jay, we round out our month of macabre Top 5s with a look at our favorite shambling, wrapping-covered monsters. Then we dig into Assassin's Creed Origins, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Super Mario Odyssey, The Mummy Demastered, and much more before looking at the defunct game studios you'd resurrect from the dead.

This week, we switch gears from more generalized spooky topics to a spooky series, as Henry Gilbert rejoins to help us rank our five favorite installments of the legendary Resident Evil franchise. We'll then suit up for South Park: The Fractured But Whole, lament the demise of Visceral Games, and look at the horror movies you'd want to turn into horror games.

Happy Friday the 13th! Our monthlong Halloween theme continues this week, as Matthew Jay joins us for an exploration of horror games based on horror movies, some of which might actually surprise you. We also dig into Middle-earth: Shadow of War, The Evil Within 2, hacking the SNES Classic, loot boxes, and the unwanted games you got as gifts.

It's the first week of October, which means it's time to gather around the campfire and listen to an increasingly spooky month of Top 5s. We'll start off easy, as Heidi Kemps joins us to talk about the spectral protagonists of five games that let you play as ghosts. Then it's on to a lot of talk about the SNES Classic, Cuphead, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Red Dead Redemption 2, and the games you'd add to the SNES Classic.

The SNES Classic is here at last! Will you be able to find one? Only one thing is certain at this point: lots of wishful thinking from fans who aren't getting exactly what they wanted. We're no exception, so this week, Henry Gilbert joins us to talk about our Top 5 SNES games that aren't getting a second life on Nintendo's newest micro console. Then it's on to Danganronpa V3, Cuphead, Fortnite's battle with PUBG, and your favorite Metroidvanias.

The first Metroid game in seven years hit last Friday with Samus Returns, so let's celebrate by taking a look back at our top 5 Metroid games, with help from Brett Elston and Nathan Ortega (who's here to plug his just-announced game, Slipstream Scalawags). We then turn our attention to Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Toys 'R' Us going bankrupt, and the games you developed your own headcanon for.

This week's guest is an especially special one: Walt Williams, co-writer of Star Wars Battlefront II, lead writer of Spec Ops: The Line, and author of games-industry memoir Significant Zero (out Sept. 19!). Inspired by Walt's stories of youthful thievery, we focus this week's Top 5 on thieves who decided to work together and became like family in the process. (Fair warning, it takes us about an hour and 17 minutes to get there.) Then we get real chatty about Metroid: Samus Returns, new iPhones, SNES Classic reassurances, and your most memorable game-launch stories.

Thanks to absent pun aficionado Dave Rudden, we're dedicating Episode 230 (tooth hurty, hurr hurr) to gaming's often-overlooked and frequently vicious dentists, with help from Bob Mackey and Matthew Jay. Then it's time to pivot and chat about Destiny 2, Knack 2, the surprise reveal of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, and the genres you'd like to see Mario invade.

Between this week's release of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Kart, this was a very Mario week - so to celebrate the latter, let's rank our five favorite Mario Karts, with help from returning guest Matthew Jay. Then it's on to Rabbids, Yakuza Kiwami, the end of Miiverse, the games you'd like to see add a story mode, and more!

Remember earlier this week, when it seemed like the whole world was consumed with eclipse mania? That was enough to inspire this week's topic, in which VGA vet Henry Gilbert and first-timer Matthew Jay join us to discuss five video games that used eclipses as major plot points. We then move on to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Madden NFL 18, the blink-and-you-missed-them SNES Classic pre-orders, and your favorite Sonic the Hedgehog games.

With Sonic Mania restoring Sega's mascot to critical success this week, we invite Heidi Kemps (who reviewed Mania for IGN) to join us for a look at our five favorite Sonic spinoff games. Then it's on to (what else?) Sonic Mania, Agents of Mayhem, Okami HD coming to PS4, a new Swery65 game, and the gritty games you'd like to see get cute sequels.

Nathan "@kenjisalk" Ortega joins us this week for a dive into five cute and/or silly series that suddenly veered into shooty-shooty-brood-brood-murder territory, for better or worse. Then stay tuned for chat about Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Lawbreakers, the return of the Nintendo World Championships, and the portable games you wish you could play on a console.