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.

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Videogame-industry veterans Mikel Reparaz and Anne Lewis rally their colleagues for weekly discussions about games, the industry, and the circus of egos and information that surrounds it all.

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Hades II's surprise Early Access launch this week got us thinking about other games that found success with unfinished builds and community enthusiasm, so we invited TL Foster of Welcome to the Thing on to talk about five of them. Then it's on to first impressions of Hades II, as well as Puppet Master: The Game, Microsoft shuttering studios, Helldivers 2 drama, and your favorite beautiful flops. Question of the Week: Do you like playing games early (whether in Early Access or demos), or do you prefer to wait and play after launch? Break song is Incomplete by Bad Religion. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

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Great reviews don't always mean great sales, and this week, we invite Phil Keeling of Pixel Lit for a look at five games that were critical darlings, but commercial flops. Then we'll dig into Stellar Blade, Pools, Indika, Another Crab's Treasure, the return of Net Neutrality, and the games you think perfected their series' gameplay. Question of the Week: Tell us about your favorite beautiful flop. What's an amazing game that wasn't the success it should have been? Break song is Danny's Song as performed by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

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Plenty of sequels improve on a formula or reinvent it entirely, but how many really perfect it? This week, Tony Wilson of Framework joins us for a debate about which five sequels nailed what their predecessors were goinf for, turning classics into masterpieces. Then we'll get into Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Sand Land, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a little Stellar Blade, and the in-development(-hell) game movies you most want to see. Question of the Week: What games did we miss in our top 5? Which sequel “nailed it” by iterating on what earlier games had done? Break song is Toss A Coin To Your Witcher by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

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The Fallout TV series is out, it's great, and it's making us think of other, less-fortunate game-to-movie/TV adaptations - the ones languishing for decades in development hell, continually changing hands only to fade into obscurity. We'll look at five of the most striking examples this week, after which we'll get into Harold Halibut, Children of the Sun, the Fallout series (no spoilers), Nintendo skipping Gamescom, and your favorite Metroidvanias (that we didn't talk about last week).  Question of the Week: Is there a videogame movie in development (or in development hell) you’re looking forward to seeing? Break song is Crawl Out Through the Fallout by Sheldon Allman. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

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Super Metroid turns 30 in the US on April 18, so we're celebrating the genre it kick-started by inviting Brendan Hesse for a debate-style Top 5 about the best Metroidvanias. Then we'll get into Season 1 of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Star Wars Outlaws, The Rogue Prince of Persia, and your favorite videogame x brand cross-promotions. Question of the Week: What’s your favorite Metroidvania that we didn’t talk about in the Top 5? Tell us what we missed. Break song is Regretroid by Starbomb. Vidjagame Apocalypse theme by Matthew Joseph Payne.

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