This week, we’ve heard Rockstar games co-founder Dan Houser talking about cancelled GTA 5 story DLC and Saints Row 1 design director Chris Stockman sharing his pitch for a Saints Row reboot, which has us lamenting the lack of open-world action games set in contemporary settings. Specifically, the kind where you can steal cars and cause mayhem - you know, like in GTA. It feels like we used to get these all the time, and now, they’re few and far between, assuming they see the light of day. The Saints Row reboot was a flop, and Volition isn’t around anymore. Mindseye didn’t deliver on its ambitious premise. Contraband, the project from Just Cause developer Avalanche was cancelled. Sleeping Dogs might get a movie courtesy of Simu Liu, but it seems unlikely we’ll get a new game anytime soon. What happened? Will we ever see this kind of game make a comeback? What about The Simpsons Hit & Run? Plus, Sony has a new holiday ad campaign that harkens back to the weirdo marketing of the PlayStation 2.

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet

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It’s almost Halloween, so what better excuse to geek out about horror games? Max and Brian take a look back at the horror franchises that dominated each generation of PlayStation console. From the birth of Resident Evil on the PS1 to Silent Hill and Fatal Frame’s numerous outings on the PlayStation 2, to the PS3/360 era that gave us Dead Space, Condemned and of course, The Last of Us. A few major games arrived right on the cusp between PlayStation 3 and PS4, The Evil WIthin and Alien Isolation. And, of course, Bloodborne, which is absolutely a horror game and I can’t believe we have to keep having this conversation. Anyway, we also ranked the best horror games on PlayStation in the worst way possible, blindly assigning them ranking on a list without knowing what other games are contenders.

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet

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In the video game equivalent of Hell freezing over or pigs flying, the original Halo is coming to PlayStation. Halo: Campaign Evolved is a full Unreal Engine 5 overhaul of the 2001 Xbox original, and in honor of the 25th anniversary, it’s going multi-platform sometime next year. Nick got a chance to play it, and shared his impressions about new features, control changes, UI improvements, and more, as well as some of the stuff we don’t know, like how four-player coop will change the experience, or when the actual release date is. Meanwhile, Jada breaks down the new Secret Lair x PlayStation Superdrop of Magic: The Gathering cards featuring some beloved Sony video came properties like God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon, and even Twisted Metal. In other rare collectible news, Sony’s dropping a gorgeous coffee table book about the history of the PlayStation 1, as well as some super limited edition Reeboks in that classic PS1 colorway. If you need a new way to compulsively make hours melt away, Ball x Pit might be for you, though if you have chores to do or loved ones to spend time with, it might not be advisable. Meanwhile, Max sucks at Battlefield 6 but loves it, Jada has issues with Digimon Story: Time Stranger’s UI, Nick went to a real haunted house, and complains about it being too scary until it wasnt, and probably something else I forgot to mention but you probably stopped reading by now so I think we’re in the clear. Beyond!

This weeks show was Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Nick Maillet, and is produced by Tom Jorgensen

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SPOILER ALERT! This week, we’re talking Ghost of Yotei yet again, but delving deep into late game content, including the ending. Joining us to unpack all that, and answer some more questions about how the open-world samurai epic came together are creative director Jason Connel and lead writer Ian Ryan from Sucker Punch Productions. We discuss story changes, their first impressions of Atsu, how Erika Ishii was cast, and what fan feedback about Ghost of Tsushima informed the direction of this sequel. Beyond!

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, and is produced by Nick Maillet

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This week on Beyond Jada Griffin is hosting yet again! Joined by Michael Higham, and Nick Maillet to talk more about Ghost of Yotei. We dive into how the Japanese community is embracing Yotei for how it quintessentially feels like Hokkaido, a few of the smaller touches of things we liked such as the various minigames in Yotei, and a couple of platinum trophy tips from Jada. We also read some viewer questions and thoughts after their first weekend with Yotei, and finally talk about the things we’d like to see in the inevitable Legends mode that will come to Yotei in the future. All this and more on this week's BEYOND!

This weeks epsiode is Jada Griffin, Michael Higham, and Nick Maillet.

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Ghost of Yotei is almost out, and this week we’re joined by to members of the team at Sucker Punch Productions who were behind it. Creative director Jason Connell and art director Joanna Wang tell us about how the studio approached their follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima, from the cinematic inspirations to the real world research that informed this new open-world vision of Japan, and its new protagonist Atsu, played by Erika Ishii. Plus, the hidden significance of the game’s logo, how collaboration with Takashi Miike and Shinichiro Watanabe came together, and the possibility of a Ghost game not set in feudal Japan.

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet

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Ghost of Yotei isn’t out for a little while, but the reviews are in, and we’re joined by IGN’s Michael Higham to discuss Sucker Punch’s highly anticipated samurai sequel stacks up compared to its predecessor. Ghost of Tsushima was one of the last great first-party exclusives of the PS4 era, but Ghost of Yotei takes full advantage of the PlayStation 5, and it’s definitely worth the wait. Join us as we discuss the improved visuals, open-world design, main story (without any spoilers) combat, and our handful of minor frustrations. How has stealth changed? What are the new weapons like? How does Atsu compare to Jin Sakai? How does Yotei’s climate and terrain compare to that of Tsushima? And, of course, how does this game feel after 2025’s other big open-world samurai game, but most importantly, why didn’t it get as high a review score at Ghost of Tsushima? We unpack all this and more in this week’s episode of Hosts of Yotei.

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Brian Altano, Michael Higham and is produced by Nick Maillet

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Sony suprised everyone with their September State of Play and Max, Jada, Brian, and Nick broke down every major game announced. Starting off with the first look at the long awaited Marvel's Wolverine, and it didnt dissapoint. Wolverine is definitely earning it's likely M rating, and everyone on the show (espically Jada) was impressed with the small amount of gameplay we saw today. It's safe to say that we cant wait to sink our claws into it next year. Take a minute to soak in how well crafted that last sentence was, but not for too long because the crew also broke down other notable games from the stream such as Halloween, Saros, Megaman in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Zero Parades for Dead Spies, Nioh 3, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and why the Sony Desktop Speakers are interesting. Beyond!

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Brian Altano, Nick Limon and is produced by Nick Maillet

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This week we’re joined by notorious tie-guy Travis Northup, who just dropped his review of Borderlands 4, and who also went hands on with some large scale maps in Battlefield 6 at a preview event. What do these two games have in common, besides being shooters? They’re both shaping up to be returns-to-form for a couple series that haven’t stuck the landing with their core fanbase in recent installments. But sure enough, Gearbox has stuck to its guns (all bajllion of them) getting the looter-shooter in fighting shape, and it seems its first foray into the open-world space is fairly successful, aside from some rough technical edges. Meanwhile, EA and DICE clearly pulled out all the stops in making Battlefield 6 as big and loud as possible, but it also sounds like it’s going back to basics, cribbing from series highlights, going so far as featuring a beloved Battlefield 3 map, Operation: Firestorm. On a completely unrelated note, we were also joined by Bennett Foddy (of QWOP fame) to discuss the new open-world hiking game, Baby Steps, which is quite literally a walking simulator - and a very challenging one at that. Bennett discusses some of his inspirations and influences, which yes, include the Dark Souls games and their ilk, which seem downright easy compared to Baby Steps at times. Beyond!

00:00 - Intro

00:45 - Borderlands 4 Is No Bore

33:36 - IGN Fan Fest Returns This October

35:27 - Battlefield 6 Preview Impressions

51:07 - Baby Steps Developer Interview With Bennett Foddy

01:17:40 - BEYOND!

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Travis Northup, and is produced by Nick Maillet

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The year is far from over, and some of the biggest game releases are still yet to come - so let’s run down 25 games of various shapes, sizes, genres, flavors and configurations that have our attention for one reason or another. From the obvious big sequels like Ghost of Yotei, Ninja Gaiden 4, and Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2, to smaller offbeat indies like Baby Steps, Bye Sweet Carole and Mina the Hollower, we’ve got a lot to keep us busy in the coming months. The formerly PSVR 2-exclusive Alien Rogue Incursion gets a regular flat version, and Terminator 2 gets a retro-styled arcade side-scroller in Terminator 2D: No Fate. Double Dragon Revive puts the classic brawler in the capable and probably very calloused hands of the team at Arc System Works, Once Upon a Katamari lets us roll some new crap from throughout history into a big ball, and The Outer Worlds 2 indulges our worst decision-making abilities.

00:00 - Intro

01:12 - Skate

04:08 - Dying Light: The Beast

06:37 - Baby Steps

10:30 - Silent Hill f

13:44 - Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

19:24 - Alien Rogue Incursion - Part One: Evolved Edition

23:16 - Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

25:50 - Ghost of Yotei

26:46 - Digimon Story: Time Stranger

28:36 - Bye Sweet Carole

31:35 - Dreams of Another

33:13 - Little Nightmares III

35:45 - Ninja Gaiden 4

38:39 - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

41:53 - Double Dragon Revive

44:37 - Once Upon a Katamari

46:48 - The Outer Worlds 2

49:11 - ARC Raiders

52:54 - Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD - 2D Remake

54:28 - Terminator 2D: No Fate

57:38 - Mina The Hollower

01:00:40 - Satisfactory

01:03:30 - Where Winds Meet

01:06:16 - Outlaws & Handful of Missions

01:07:38 - Octopath Traveler 0

01:12:48 - Beyond Community Suggestions

This weeks show is Max Scoville, Jada Griffin, Brian Altano, and is produced by Nick Maillet

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