In this episode of 28 Plays Later, we discuss 28 PLAYS LATER: THE ALBUM! Yep, we have a comedy album, that you can buy online, OR you can get your hands on a physical signed copy at PAX West!

We also talk about the perils of being tired boys, the gauche frippery (its a word) of most gaming rigs and gaming attire, asking the question… why is the gaming aesthetic inside games often to considered, yet many gamers spray money at the ugliest junk imaginable in real life?

PLUS, Paul weighs in after a morning mainlining Deus Ex: Mankind Divided! Is it a worthy follow-up to Human Revolution? And again… WE HAVE AN ALBUM! Below, you can see the first box of copies, covered in a film of Paul’s glee-induced sweat. We really think you’re going to love this. Enjoy the show!

A very special NSFW episode of 28 Plays Later! Paul and Kris discuss sex and romance and their evolving place in games. What games have portrayed sex in the best light? Can sex be a gaming mechanic? Why are the early days of video games full of awful representations of it? Also, a challenging new peripheral.

PLUS — with the game in full release, we discuss our early takes on No Man’s Sky for PC. We like it, but it’s not all procedurally-generated roses.

A quickie from Paul’s vacation on Bali — Kris and Paul prepare for No Man’s Sky, and for next week’s episode 69, where we’ll be discussing how love and sex are portrayed in video games. Hot, sexual sex!

Do you have any examples of games that did sex and romance right? Horribly wrong? Is it necessary in the games it appears in, or is it always an uncanny-valleyesque stumbling block? Let us know here in the comments, or on our Facebook page!

This episode we look at Double Fine’s and Adult Swim Game’s Headlander, the beautiful underwater Abzû, and absorb more of your listener questions! Plus: Kris’ beard length as an indicator of overall poor health.

(And the horror game Kris was trying to remember: Scorn. Seriously, it’s… unpleasant.)

You asked us questions on our Facebook page, and we answer in this big episode! We get ready for No Man’s Sky, a throng of P.T. clones (like Visage), the release of Starbound, and Paul gets tasked by Mikey Neumann to describe NES titles he’s never played based on their title screens.

A broad, whimsical conversation gets a little serious as Paul and Kris talk about the new game Inside (from the studio that brought us the lovely LIMBO), and the 2009 Ghostbusters video game — which brings us to the audience reaction to the new movie, and what makes genuine conversation so difficult. It’s a tricky look at degrees of outrage, both well-placed and not.

Plus! Detective Frostycone “Frost” Slushbottom finally gets a video game adaptation!

Pokémon Go: is it tearing the world apart, or heralding a new era of peace? Paul and Kris describe their very different experiences playing the game, plus a foray into black-market Pokémon meat, which Pokémon is most likely to rise up against humanity, and we announce the winner of the Australian PS4 Uncharted 4 console giveaway — Victor Mahnic, who won us over with this young-Paul-esque cardboard “sympathy console:”

Plus! You can check out Paul’s article on the game at Junkee.

Thanks so much for listening, everyone! As we prepare for next week, we’d love your comments and emails, so write with whatever’s on your mind! Can we help? Of course the answer is yes, but how? 

theme from North by Northwest (1959) by Bernard Herrmann

Paul has Legomania for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and we discuss your ideas for other franchises that deserve the Lego treatment (and give away a prize!). Plus, a letter from Paul’s dad, low-poly breast geometry and Clarence’s angel-wing scam.

Encouraged by a recent event, Paul helps Kris find a game his dad can play, but there are a number of caveats — which leads to talking about how games and what we think of as gameplay has changed. Plus we dissect listeners’ ideas for 28 Plays merch, and a swordfight with Nigel Farage.

GIVEAWAY: On our Facebook page, we’re giving away a download code for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Steam! Like us and let us know: what prominent franchise do you think should get the Lego game treatment? Best answer wins!

Paul moved house and had emergency dental surgery, but still had the will to check in with our listeners in this short episode. We talk about E3 and what we’ve been following before Paul lapses into tooth aphasia. We’ll bring you our takes on E3 reveals next week!